L.U.I. -- Living Under the Influence

I was raised in a denominational church that had definite "boundaries" set that defined acceptable behavior for members of the church. I thought God's commandments to His people included:

• Thou shalt not drink alcohol.
• Thou shalt not dance (especially in church).
• Thou shalt dress nice and smell good for church on Sundays (although, it was okay to wear jeans on Wednesdays--still couldn't stink, though).
• Thou shalt not have fun during the Sunday morning service.
• Thou shalt not question the teachings that come from the pulpit.

To be honest, not all of the above rules were spoken outright, but were perceptions of mine, garnered over years of trying to follow the system laid out by the leaders/elders of the churches I attended*. I believed that my ability to obey the rules proved my salvation.

When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians it is obvious that the people in this young church were being lead somewhere counter to the teaching that Paul and his ministry team had originally laid down. The Church in Galatia was composed of Gentiles that had never lived by the law of Moses, including the practice of circumcision (which plays a big role in the book of Galatians). Some of the Jewish-Christians at the time felt that the Gentile Christians should undergo the rite of circumcision in addition to following the rest of the Law. Paul used very strong language to point out that our justification doesn't come through the Law at all, but comes through Christ alone. Paul makes the following statement at the end of his letter:

"It doesn't make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. May God’s mercy and peace be upon all those who live by this principle. They are the new people of God."(Galatians 6:15-16)

The outward manifestation of our salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not our ability to live by Church "laws" or "guidelines." Our new and different lives are proven by our ability to live our lives "under the influence."

The fruit of the Spirit is listed a few verses earlier in Galatians: "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law." Our capacity for love and ability to demonstrate it is the first and most obvious outward sign of our conversion and subsequent filling of the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus states that a man that lives a life of love (loving God first, and then our neighbors) obeys the entirety of the law (Matthew 22:37-40).

Sometimes, I have a desire to behave like the Jewish-Christians that were trying to turn the Galatians into mirror images of themselves; I want to clean someone up before they come to Church--I want to warn them, "No cussing, no smoking, don't come to church reeking of alchohol... Please don't shout or sing too loudly. Don't do anything to draw attention to yourself." Heck, I have a natural instinct to think just like the Jews, "If I had to get circumcised, so do you!" The reality is, none of this matters. Whether or not they obey the rules we have made is of no consequence. What matters is that they live their life under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Their love for God, and the love they have for their neighbors will be the first evidence we see of their transformed lives. After a person is saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit(not our little rule book) will lead them in the direction He will have them go.

My prayer is that God gives me the strength to Love my neighbor; to help me accept him as he is, and to allow the Love of God to show through me and to change him. God give me wisdom to live a life in accordance with your will, and help me be sensitive to the voice of your Spirit. I want to live my life "Under the Influence."


*I know my Dad (my first pastor) would look at the above list and think, "I never taught that to him", and Dad would be right. I was pretty young when my Dad was pastor, and most of what I remember of his pastorship was the fun I had in VBS, and my salvation/baptism at age 8. Admittedly, some of it was present in the elders of his church, but a lot of it was picked up after we moved to St. Louis and became members of a different church. I was in Jr. High then, was more observant, and I can remember that time of my life a little better.