The Prime Directive

The Apostle Paul did not mind repeating himself.  In the 16th verse of the 5th chapter of what we know as his letter to the Galatian Christians, he wrote, "Live by the Spirit..."  No more than just a few sentences further, he sounds the same theme, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."  (Galatians 5:25)  Everyone has some primary directive which drives the way life is lived.  That prime directive may have to do with accumulation, or adoration, or some other thing driven by the ego.  The alternative the Word of God offers is to be driven by the Holy Spirit.

 

If we are going to live by the Spirit, if we are going to be guided by the Spirit, if such a life is going to describe the prime directive of our all the living we do, it is going to be necessary for us see the importance of abandoning a life based on ego gratification.  Ego gratification creates a very small world.  It is a world where we place ourselves at the center.  When we place ourselves at the center of our life, we have given self the only place where the Holy Spirit can abide in us and do its life changing work in us.    

When the Word of God presents the contrast between a life filled with works of the flesh and one filled with fruit of the Spirit, it is illuminating the choice that has to be made in the core of our being.  We cannot live according to the demands of our own ego and live by the Spirit at the same time.  It is a situation of incompatibility.  Surely, this is one of the reasons the word "abandonment" is such an appropriate description of the basic choice which must be made if we are truly serious about a Spirit guided life.