Life in the flesh vs. life in the Spirit

In his Letter to the Galatians, St. Paul makes this distinction between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit, something that is very important to know if we want to abide by our true dignity as children of God, created in his image and likeness, and sharers in his divine life and nature. (5,18-25)

At the moment, there seems to be a worldwide trend toward pure sensualization or carnalization, leading us, especially the young, to be merely carnal, instead of being spiritual, to use terms defined by St. Paul.

It’s important that we develop a certain sensitivity to this concern because otherwise we would all be deluded by a very treacherous virus, a sweet poison that can truly harm us individually and collectively.

This is not at all about suppressing or disparaging in any way the value of the senses, the urges and the hormones, and the sentiments, feelings, passions that they produce. Neither the value of the physical attributes we have.

We just have to realize more deeply that they need to be ruled and directed by reason and ultimately by faith, hope and charity. Otherwise, we can be accused by Christ himself who once said of some people:

“They look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” And citing a prophecy of Isaiah, he said, “Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes…” (Mt 13,13.15)

Let’s be spiritual, not carnal. That’s the ideal that we should aim at. It’s not a matter of suppressing our material and earthly condition, but rather of going beyond that level. That’s where the road to the fullness of our humanity can be found. That’s where we are freed from the constricting world of our senses, emotions and passions.

St. Paul said something to this effect. “Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4,22-24)

In another instance, St. Paul talked about talking or preaching in a spiritual way and not just according to human and worldly wisdom. “My message and my preaching,” he said, “were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Cor 2,4-5)

More clearly, he said: “We speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” (1 Cor 2,13)

This is a big challenge for us all. We have to learn to think, speak and act in a spiritual way, and not just mainly conditioned by our material and worldly aspects.

When we see a person, thing or event, we should not get stuck in the knowing their physical appearance or external characteristics alone. We should go beyond them, discerning the spirit that animates them. In this we have to train ourselves endlessly. We need to check if the spirit behind them is of God or not.

We have to learn to walk in the Spirit rather than to walk in the flesh. We have to train ourselves to think, speak, and act in terms of our faith, and in intimate relationship with God and the saints. This is always possible and very doable!