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• TITLE: Life's Spam | Previous Challenge Entry
  By Randy Foncree
  11/09/11
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       All of us hate it, that unsolicited email or bulk postings, usually wanting to sell a product or inform us of our high dollar lottery winnings that we never signed up for. It’s called spam: electronic junk mail. I receive it from time to time supposedly from overseas. Some high ranking official dies, and the widow of the deceased wants to give me a huge amount of cash to handle the account. Usually I am asked to send them money so the money that they’re offering can be released to my bank account. The majority of this type of spam ends up being a scam from skilled shysters.

       What I want to deal with is the spam of someone’s life, namely that of a Christian. I call this our life’s spam: the unnecessary junk we allow into our world. It’s usually brought in by one or two of three methods: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. You may be asking: “Just how does this come about?” Well I’m glad you ask because I’m going to share a thought or two on all three of these methods.

       The lust of the flesh deals with our carnal desires. Some believers are drawn to things such as alcohol, drugs, pornography, etc. The list could go on and on. Some have a real desire to serve God, but are always struggling with issues of the flesh. The only way to deal with this kind of life’s spam is to daily walk in the spirit. If we allow Christ to transform us and renew us day by day, we will find the strength IN HIM to resist all temptation that comes at us. The Word says, “If we walk in the Spirit, we’ll not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

       The lust of the eyes is things we see and have an illicit desire for. For instance, we see our neighbor has a new car, and we can barely keep up repairs on the one we have. We become envious and desire what our neighbor has. Maybe this life’s spam can come in the form of adulterous desires we have for a coworker. Maybe our marriage isn’t all it should be, so we start looking elsewhere. Maybe we become envious of another man’s promotion, and we start bad mouthing him to other coworkers. You get the picture. The answer to dealing with the lust of the eyes is contentment. The Word tells us to be anxious for nothing. If we have a need, we’re to bring it before the Lord with prayers and supplications. But we do it with a thankful heart. We may not have the best running car, but we’re thankful it gets us from point A to point B. We actually become appreciative of that neighbor who has the new car. We may have a debt free car, but he may be saddled with a $400.00 car payment.

       Finally the pride of life deals with those things that enter into our life that that tends to exalt us above God’s will. In the Garden of Eden, Eve dealt with this when the serpent tempted her with the forbidden fruit. The serpent told her that she could be as God, knowing good and evil, and that she could be made wise. Today, we may be tempted with prestige, fame, or fortune to the point where we end up believing nothing can touch us. We lose our need for God the Father. We may even think we’re better than other people whom we believe to be beneath us. The cure for this is humility. The Word says that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. No matter what our status or position is, we must allow God to control and lead our life. We are nothing without Him.

       All of us have life’s spam to deal with. As we draw close to God the Father, He will work those things out that distract or control us. God is not the author of confusion, but peace, and He will deliver and protect us if we’ll learn to totally depend on His provision and deliverance.

Scripture references:
1 John 2:16, Galatians 5:16, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Philippians 4:6, Genesis 3:5-6, James 4:6-7, Philippians 4:16, Mark 8:36