Devotion #6: What Is Eating You?

Google defines a parasite as “an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense.” Parasites are one of the most dreaded creatures in nature. The freeloaders of the animal kingdom have enough power to destroy entire ecosystems or our economies. Even just one parasite can cause immense chaos, and because of that, they are dealt with very quickly and thoroughly to ensure the damage is contained. The thing is, in life, there is a parasite that we all carry, whether we choose to or not. However, we do have a choice when it comes to how we deal with it. We can either cut it off at the source or continue to let it grow and eat away at us.  

Romans 13:14 states, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”  

This parasite I talked about earlier is the “flesh” referenced in verse 14. If we translate the word “flesh” in this context, it simply means sinful humanity. This parasite that we all have is our sin. Sin will eat away at us if it is left unchecked and will continue until there is nothing left, but just like a parasite, there is a treatment.  

That treatment for our sins is Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. The cure is there, and all we have to do is accept it. As verse 14 says, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” It does not end there, though. Once we have Jesus, the cure, we should not do the things that were feeding the parasite or our sin again. When we do that, our sin will appear again, and once again, it will start to eat away at us. Jesus is the cure to our sin, but we must not “gratify its desires,” as verse 14 says. Do not get the cure, and then turn around and start feeding the parasite again.  

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23