Romans 7:15-20; Matthew 11:16-19; July 9, 2023; 6th Sunday after Pentecost
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” – Romans 7:15
And people say the Bible is not relevant! Pssh.
Friends, acknowledging that we are all guilty of this, and that in a church we can admit to where we go wrong, what is it that you do that you hate? That if you could, you wouldn’t at all?
Is it something like cursing too much on the interstate? Or, is it more like getting irrationally irritated by a favorite team’s underperformance? Or, is it getting upset at your spouse or child for the small and insignificant things that really do not matter? Or, is it like being too focused on events and people long buried in the past? Or, is it perhaps like procrastinating when a deadline is approaching? Or, like lusting after certain images on the internet? Or, is it more like irresponsibly wasting your own or your family’s money on things bought in secret, on things that will not last?
Whatever it is, if you could, would you correct it today? And if so, how might you go about stopping yourself so that you won’t repeat that action again in the future? Those are our questions for today.
For years I have personally loved a different verse in Romans, that which comes from 12:2: which says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable.” Which is like saying, ideally, we can take control of the wheel, and stop our bad behaviors, but it’s going to require of us to step outside of our conditioning, our upbringing, and our surroundings, to do so.
But you see, here in Romans 7:15, Paul is saying like, yeah, even though that’s true — for I will write it — it’s still really hard to consistently do. And we’re likely going to flub it up again.
“Behavioral economics” as described by the University of Chicago, “combines elements of economics and psychology to understand how and why people behave the way they do. It is grounded in observations of human behavior, which have demonstrated that people do not always make the “rational” or “optimal” decision, even if they have the information and the tools available to do so.” — https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-behavioral-economics
Does that sound like you today, my friends? Or, like someone you know? I don’t know, but I mean it sure sounds like my wife… I mean, me! I mean, me! My mistake! See, there I go again, doing what I do not want, what I hate, getting myself into marital trouble…
In Paul’s letter, he attributes these poor, hateful, self-inflicted impulses to SIN. Saying in verse 20, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but the sin that dwells within me.”
Which is not very much unlike what 18th-century Scottish economist Adam Smith said, who no doubt you have all read, when coining the concept of the “invisible hand” which nudges us to do the things we do, whether we want to or not.
Smith believed (again as I’m sure you’ve all read), that “an economy could find prosperity if individuals acted in their best interests (honestly, not too novel of an idea), but as individuals we often do not, electing instead for short-term benefits over long-term rewards (which admittedly was an impressive observation for the time, and, one, I think, that perfectly describes our society today).” – again, https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-behavioral-economics. Chasing after immediate gratification, even if it will hurt us or others down the road.
Think of like getting high on oxy, or getting drunk every weekend, chasing the moment ignoring the long-term effects on your brain and organs. Or, like eating that snickers bar, because you crave that sugar rush, but then getting all hot and bothered that your “bikini body” doesn’t really look like it should on the beach. Or, think of buying that new gas-guzzler, propping up the fossil-fuel industry, when the whole world is screaming hot and every model is prognosticating doom, but saying to your kids, well at least we made more room for your soccer balls and equipment.
Short-term benefits, over long-term interests.
And our sin, the not-so invisible hand, is leading us collectively over the cliff. Whispering in our ear, coercing our souls, to compound each wrong decision with another, pushing us further and further away from the salvation that we as individuals, and as a society, both want and need.
And in Jesus’ time, things weren’t that much different either. Because his was a world also divided by sin and such things like the segregation of classes. Between the haves and the have-nots. And the people were taught, just like us, that kings and politicians and gods only had interests in the lives of nobles, everyone else be damned.
But then miraculously, a boy was born in little old Bethlehem, preaching a message that the true God and King actually does care about the have-nots and the outcasts!
But, even though they heard that, and had the information and the tools to understand what he meant by it, did they listen? Did they follow him? No, instead of protecting and celebrating Jesus for giving them that good news, they instead called him a drunkard and a sinner, and put him on a cross, in place of Barabbas, a known and convicted murderer!
The people chose a murderer; and called Jesus a drunkard and a sinner. Let that sink in. The not-so-invisible hand of sin nudging these people, just like it nudges us, to make horrible decisions against our own individual, spiritual, and societal best interests.
And honestly, this is why I slightly depart from Paul, and the behavioral models that make it seem like the people didn’t have a choice. And that neither do we. As if we are all just some puppets on a string unable to say “yes, yes,” or “no, no,” for and by ourselves.
No, I’m sorry Paul, but I think the “it was the sin that made me do it” excuse is too convenient and played out and doesn’t propel us forward towards proper humility and contrition, nor towards a reality where change is possible. Nor does it work in the real world either…for you really can’t say to your wife or husband, sorry for the adultery and all, but hey, what was I supposed to do; I’m a sinner like you, babe!
Yeah, no. I don’t think that’s going to work… Yes, sin will always be here and within us, yes. But we shouldn’t so naturally succumb to it such that everything we do should also be excused by it. No, I think we need to take better control of the wheel, to be more responsible and accountable, and transform our minds so that we don’t so easily conform to the world’s.
See, it’s about choices, and the architecture of choices that we surround ourselves with. Who and where we position ourselves next to, and who and what we are listening to. And so, if we really hate what we do and we really want to see a difference in our lives, then we need to turn off the Talk Radio, and the echo chamber of destructive friends, and one-sided news, and everything else that is only using us as pawns in their world, to their ends.
And then, after doing so, we must admit to our weaknesses and our impulses; our lusts and our patterns, so that we don’t keep on putting ourselves into positions where we can be so easily manipulated and keep getting it wrong.
Paul opens our lesson today with the line: “I do not understand my own actions…” Well, my friends, I think it’s time that you try… Try to understand yourselves. Try to examine your mind. Examine your head. Don’t just stick it in the sand. But seriously, and honestly, reflect on your behaviors, and then find someone to talk to, especially if you are struggling with changing the things that you or your loved ones hate about you and your actions.
And hear me clearly when I say that there is NOTHING WRONG WITH TALKING TO SOMEONE. There is nothing wrong with seeing a professional, a therapist, and admitting that you need help. For we all do! Me too! And, no one cares or will judge you for it. And if they do, well, they were never worth your time or your company in the first place. Really.
For God never intended for you to live as a prisoner. To them and the world’s opinions, or to yourself and yours. Rather, God destined you to be free so that you could be liberated from the cells that this fallen world would construct around you. That would say to you, we wailed, so why didn’t you mourn? We played, so why didn’t you sing? Do you see these strings, shut up and dance!
No, break free from all of that, from all of their ways and lies, my friends.
And do so, by first coming to understand why you are the way you are, and why you do the things you do.
For putting in that work and gaining that wisdom will in the long run vindicate you. I promise.
Because Christ does too.
Amen.
