The Bible calls self-life “the desires of the flesh.” It says that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

True Christ-followers are in the process of abandoning self-life and surrendering to Christ-life. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that you don’t have wrongful desires, feelings, and thoughts, but that you are continually at war with them and fighting to overcome them.

Self-life glorifies comfort. Christ-life glorifies God. Self-life is nourished and built up by following our human desires. Christ-life is nourished and built up by following God’s Spirit. You have the right to exercise your authority over your thoughts, your desires, and your feelings, and make them align with God!

The desires of our self-life and the desires of God’s Spirit are opposed to each other. When Christianity promotes self-focus, it replaces the kingdom of God with the kingdom of self. It should be about exchanging self-life for Christ-life–self-focus for Christ-focus.

Self-life is saturated with strife. Christ-life overflows with inner peace.

When self-focused desires
Are not denied
But glorified,
A self-cult
Is the result.