Romans 7:23
"But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me."
So, there's this show on Netflix that my husband and I have binge-watched in small increments over the past few months. Black Lightening, a TV series derived from DC Comics and originally aired on The CW, is a captivating show staring superhero Jefferson Pierce, also known as, Black Lightening. Pierce plays a leader in every aspect of his life. He is a husband, a father, a principal-turned-teacher, and a meta-human superhero.
In the show, Pierce's youngest daughter, Jennifer, falls in love with a young man named Khalil (pictured above). Unfortunately, Khalil ends up dying at the hands of the show's evil villain, Tobias. However, Khalil winds up being brought back to life as a weaponized killing machine called Painkiller. The memories and life of Khalil are kept locked away as Painkiller takes precedence in Khalil's body.
Yet, as the story goes, Black Lightening's tech-team is able to bring Khalil's memories forward while Painkiller and his villainous agenda take a back seat. However, Khalil can never completely rid himself of Painkiller. Killing Painkiller would also be the death of Khalil. Although Khalil can always fight to reign supreme in his own mind, that glimmer of evil will always be present, eagerly waiting for an opportunity to be front-and-center. Sadly, Painkiller will always be ever-present in Khalil's mind.
And then it hit me. While I read Romans 7, I realized we aren't so different than Khalil/Painkiller. We all struggle with the same internal battle. We fight with so many external sources such as our money, career, family, friends, and children that we forget that the biggest source of conflict lies within.
Romans 7 explains the constant battle of fighting with sin. We may desire to do good within our spirit but the evil that lives within our flesh makes it hard to do so. And unfortunately, sometimes the flesh takes precedence over the spirit. The longest standing war of all time is and always has been Good vs. Evil, Flesh vs. Spirit, Me vs. Me, and You vs.You.
No one is exempt from this concept... even Jesus Himself, wrestled with going to the cross when He was due to be crucified for our sins. Don't you ever think that you alone in battling your internal wars. We all battle with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These little painkillers are lodged in the back of all our minds attempting to break through and reign as rulers of our being.
But if we fight to walk in the spirit versus walking in the flesh, (Galatians 5: 16-17) just as Khalil fights to be Khalil instead of Painkiller, we can come out on top. We will fall sometimes. Proverbs 24:16 states a just man falls seven times in one day. Our falling is simply inevitable. Yet, if we can keep the painkillers of our minds locked away more than we let them run rampant, then we will be just a little bit closer to becoming the godly people that we are destined to be.
I pray your spirit consistently wins over your flesh in the never-ending war of you vs. you.
And I pray the same for myself in the constant battle of me vs. me.