We Have Met the Enemy

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 (NRSV) 

“If it isn’t my worst enemy, the one holding me back and foiling my plans!” I said as I stared in the mirror. 

If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just can’t get out of your own way. The path between where you are and where you want to be is littered with countless you-shaped, you-sized obstacles. It’s like this: We know exactly what is good, right, or necessary, but we do the opposite—the very thing we hate! We want to do the right thing, but we can’t or just don’t. Or in the words of the Apostle Paul, “For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability” (7:18b). It’s a confounding ancient truth about human behavior. 

From breaking an old bad habit or starting a new good one, to acting on deep convictions, sometimes the only thing obstructing us is us. The old bad habits persist, the new good ones don’t take. We stay silent, and we feel awful about it. If God truly made us perfect and whole, then why are we like this?! 

Paul blames sin. Rather, he says we’re held captive by sin because we are flesh. Short of shedding our flesh, what can we do? Maybe we don’t give up, but we surrender—surrender our attempts to control and overcome everything by ourselves. If we’re stuck and can’t do it alone, then we need to ask for help. When the obstacle is inside of us, then the way forward is outside of us.

Prayer
Deliver me from me, O God. Amen.  

About the Author
Chris Mereschuk (He/Him) is the Director for Legacy and Church Redevelopment for the Southern New England Conference, UCC.