Being given to anything of the flesh is bad for a Christian. When you are given to anything, that thing controls you.

1 Timothy 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

Being Given to Anything

Being given to anything of the flesh is bad for a Christian.  When you are given to anything, that thing controls you.  Obviously a Christian should not be drinking, but what about other “sins” of the flesh that we sometimes think are okay?  Even somethings that are okay in moderation can become sin when we are “given to” them.  When you are given to someone or something, that person or thing owns you.  You are no longer your own master.  The only thing we as a Christian should be given to is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He owns us, “lock, stock and barrel” as Dr. Don Green used to say.  He owns the whole gun.  But when other things start to own us, we can soon become useless to God.  A Christian always needs to keep a balance in his life.  The Bible calls this moderation.  If you are a moderate Christian, other people will know.  The Bible commands us to let our moderation be known by all men.

Overcoming the Flesh

As Christians, we received a new nature when we got saved.  Old things are supposed to pass away or go away.  After that, all things in our life should become new and change.  If somethings did not change when you got saved, I would check to make sure you got the real deal.  As a Christian, you should be trying daily to overcome the flesh.  You got a new nature that was added to the old nature.  The flesh did not go away.  You just got a more powerful nature to fight against it.  When we are given to or possessed by anything in this world, the flesh or old nature is controlling us.  There can be things that the Bible allows us to do.  If we do those things in excess, we are given to them.  At that point, that thing becomes an idol in our life.  God is a jealous God.  He does not want to compete against anything.  We need to overcome this flesh.  Being given to anything is bad for a Christian.

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