“What’s Eating at You?”
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
6-26-2022
Grace, mercy, and peace be unto from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. There’s a very strange phenomenon in children and I challenge you to explain it to me. It affects kids in every social group or ethnic background. This strange phenomenon that I’m referring to is biting. As I recall, all 3 of my kids did it at some point when they were little. I don’t remember what tactic or discipline we used, but we eventually managed to stop the biting. My parents, on the other hand, had a dickens of a time trying to cure one of my siblings of it. My Dad would put pepper on his arm and force my brother to bite that spot in an effort to break him of this bad habit. It must’ve worked because my brother doesn’t bite my arm anymore. He just calls me names now when he’s upset. Just kidding. We get along just fine nowadays.
My question is: Why do kids do it? I mean, obviously they’re not doing it because they’re hungry. Yes, sometimes they do it when they’re angry or fighting with another child. But I’ve seen it happen where a kid will just sink those pearly whites into another person’s arm without even being provoked. The crazy part is that after a child has been disciplined and told not to do it again, many times they do it anyway. So what is it that drives this strange desire to bite other people? I know, I know. “Go ask Mike Tyson. He’ll be able to tell you, Pastor.” Seriously, though, isn’t this the behavior you’d expect from a dumb animal rather than a human being?
Well, in the Epistle lesson for today, St. Paul condemns the bad habit biting. Keep in mind, he was writing to adult Christians, not children. He says in verse 15: “If you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” The combination of Greek words that Paul uses there for “bite” and “devour” and “consume” would accurately describe the attack of a ferocious animal gobbling down its prey and annihilating it. It’s the kind of biting that’s done in a rage and not merely the unexplainable chomp of a two-year-old.
Now obviously, Paul is not talking about Christians coming up and taking a bite out of their neighbor’s arm or leg. And yet, the kind of biting that Paul is referring to is just as repulsive and unacceptable as physical biting. So what would make him write such strong words against it? Well, he’s talking about the vicious attacks of a person who is being controlled by their old sinful nature. And in verses 19-21, he gives us a list of behaviors that are symptomatic of it.
Paul begins and ends his list with some really wild behavior. He says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery…” Then he ends with “drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” As you look at those behaviors you might be tempted to think that you’re safe. And I suppose if you think of those in their crudest forms you could probably say, “That ain’t me!” But just when you start thinking you’re okay, Paul drops the hammer. Sandwiched right in the middle of his list, he names: “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy...” Now, I’m not saying that those other wild behaviors aren’t destructive to the Body of Christ, but the middle part of that list is the common, everyday stuff that causes Christians to bite and devour one another. And there isn’t a single person here—from the youngest to the oldest—who hasn’t done some biting with these kinds of sinful actions. At the end of his list, Paul adds a very stern word of caution: “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Perhaps that list is still too ambiguous for you though. Maybe you need some specific examples for Paul’s warning to sink in. How about sarcasm? Growing up, this was my family’s native language. You know what sarcasm sounds like, don’t you? “No, we don’t have the slightest clue. Why don’t you explain it to us, Einstein?” There you have it. Sometimes sarcasm may just be innocent teasing. But all too often it’s overused and done out of meanness. At those times it can bite and tear away at another person’s dignity and esteem. The word “sarcasm” literally means: “To tear the flesh.” So when we use cutting, sarcastic words all the time towards another person we are biting and tearing away at them just like Paul says.
We can say the same thing about criticism. Positive criticism can actually help a person to grow and be a better person. But negative criticism is used to tear people down. You can easily tell the difference between the two. A person who is giving positive criticism will offer their services to help. But a person spewing negative criticism won’t lift a finger to help change things for the better. They’re just content to keep criticizing from the sidelines without ever having any skin in the game. This happens regularly in churches. If you don’t believe me, accept a position of leadership and you’ll quickly hear from the people who don’t think you’re doing things correctly, even though they’d NEVER step up to do your job.
What about when someone offends you? Obviously, that can stir up strife. Jesus says that when it happens you should go to that person privately and confront the problem. But that’s not the route that the sinful nature wants to take. No. We’d much rather take pot shots at people from afar. Social media on the internet invites this kind of cowardice. You see, it’s so much easier to talk ABOUT someone rather than talk TO them. And that only exasperates the problem. Sadly, this too is quite common among God’s people. And it’s very destructive because it adds fuel to the flames of strife and resentment.
These are just a few real-life examples of what can cause “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy...” And it’s all around us. In a nutshell, Paul says that when we allow our sinful nature to run loose, biting and devouring others, we’re no different than a bunch of wild animals tearing away at their prey. If the sinful nature is allowed to go on like this unchecked it will devour your marriage, your family, your friendships, and it can destroy your church. That’s exactly what Satan would love to see happen. 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Destroying and devouring is in his playbook and therefore it shouldn’t be part of a Christian’s way of life.
Thankfully, God has a better way. St. Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit who lives within us is opposed to our sinful nature which wants to bite and devour. The Spirit of God urges us to obey the command: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Some folks might bite their fingernails but we know that anyone who feels the need to bite the flesh of their own body has a mental illness. A normal person has a natural instinct to protect their body from such things. Scripture mandates that we are to love and care for our neighbors like we care for ourselves.
Paul then reminds us in verse 24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Folks, that happened when we were Baptized. The old sinful nature that we were born with was crucified. As a result, it now has no control over us. Oh, to be sure, it still lures us and tempts us. But it has no power to make us do the evil things that harm others. By daily confessing our sins we are crucifying and destroying that old sinful nature again and again.
Rather than enticing us to bite and devour, the Spirit leads us to do the opposite. He causes us to produce the precious fruit of faith that people can feast on. Paul says “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Tell me something. Who could possibly get too much love? Or too much joy? Or too much peace? Or any of the other fruits on that list? Our world would be much more pleasant if there were more of these fruits of the Spirit floating around. That’s why Paul says, “Against such things there is no law.” In other words, even our secular world benefits from having these fruits of the Spirit being produced in our communities.
But if having these fruits of the Spirit are only good for making the world a nicer place then we’re missing the whole point. You see, these fruits of the Spirit are just that: fruits. They are produced by the tree of faith that the Holy Spirit has planted within us. It is firmly rooted in the righteousness which is ours through Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit enters our lives, He makes dramatic changes within us. He removes our desire to bite and devour others. Instead, our new, sanctified nature is fed with God’s holy Word. And Christ feeds us with His own body and blood in Holy Communion. Filled with the fruits of the Spirit we are now able to keep in step with the Holy Spirit, walking in the path of righteousness that leads to heaven. And now, rather than seeking to bite and devour the people around us we can share the healing good news of the Gospel with our dying, sinful world. We can introduce them to our Lord Jesus who destroys our sinful nature and feeds us with His food of eternal life. May God keep us steadfast in the one, true faith, producing the fruits of the Spirit for the world to see so that they too may be drawn to our Savior. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!