David had the afternoon off. He and Cody decided to go fishing down on the river, the water has been turned down and there was sure to be plenty of fish in some of the quieter pockets. They disappeared ~ spending the entire afternoon basking in God's handiwork. Now, with so many hunters in our home we have a firm rule that they are not to kill anything that they do not plan on eating. The only exception being pocket gophers, skunks, starlings etc. I am not as heartless as I appear.
The problem is that no one in our family is particularly fond of trout. Especially if it has been frozen. So to counteract this problem they fry the fish as soon as they get home. Cody has it down to a science and not only produces a fish that we can tolerate but that we actually can enjoy...... every one except Bethany. She curls her nose,whines and disappears every time a basket of fish passes through our kitchen. The one time her father made her try a bit of perch, it was so painful to watch the rest of us were gaging for her.
Well, it just so happened that as the other children were sitting down to their afternoon feast ~Bethany walked into the kitchen. Of course there was some good natured bantering to follow.. "Oh, Beth, you are just in time I will get you a plate!" Again the nose curl ( sometimes I wish the Lord wouldn't have installed that muscle on her face or mine for that matter.)
"No Way!" she said and proceeded out of the kitchen. "Wait, would you do it for a quarter?"
Now, this young lady has had her eye on a bag of beads at Porter's for ages and has been saving money to purchase them for just as long. "No, not for a quarter..." but she stopped walking and was clearly waiting for a counter offer. By the time it was all said and done a seventy-five cent bribe had been produced and Bethany now sat facing her piece of fish. The only requirement was that she could not gag ~for that is very unlady like and well, nasty.
As I sat watching her calmly eat her fish and even smiling at and chatting with her brothers, I was amazed at the restraint of a persons soul when the motivation is strong enough.
Oh, that I could discipline the members of my body to be so obedient. What is my motivation.... to Glorify God... that should be the highest motivation of all. So why do I fail so often? Because of my flesh, it seeks to not only glorify me but also satisfy me. The war within the human body is more deadly and profound than any war without. The objective more costly. I war against one who has decades of practice and I'm not talking about Satan and his demons. I'm talking about me. From the cradle we go forth speaking lies, lusting and satisfying our flesh.
Only one can save us from ourselves. Praise God that he has. If I but let Christ reign in me, the battle will be short. If I but let Christ do the leading, I will never lose my way.
For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit.
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