Tag Archives: sinful nature

Night Light - James & Shirley Dobson

Night Light for Couples – I Deserve It!

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“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.” Galatians 5:17

That sinful nature we talked about yesterday often rears its head in the form of the thought I deserve more. It leads us to demand the best deal, the lion’s share, the most credit, and the finest of everything. From earliest childhood, as we have seen, our impulse is to focus on ourselves and to disregard the needs of others.

And, yes, this “I‐deserve‐it” attitude can permeate marriages. Resentment can build over who works the hardest, who spends more than his or her share of the money, and who is not doing enough to serve the other. Anger then erupts over insignificant irritants that bubble up from the cauldron of emotions. Many fights in marriage begin with the belief that we’re being cheated in the relationship.

Beware of this trap. The minute we begin thinking that we are entitled to more, we’ve started down the slippery road to selfishness. It can devastate a relationship.

John Ferrier didn’t deserve to die in an Ohio neighborhood—but when crisis came, he chose to sacrifice for others. Jesus didn’t deserve to be nailed to a wooden cross—but out of love for the Father and for us, He allowed Himself to be crucified. This kind of sacrificial love seeks to serve, not “deserve”—and that changes everything!

Just between us…

  • What do you feel we truly deserve in this life?
  • Do you sometimes feel that you’re not getting what you deserve in our marriage?
  • Is selfishness a problem for us?

Dear Lord, we need Your Spirit at work in us to overcome our self-centered impulses. By Your grace, empower us to serve instead of to “deserve.” Amen.

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Think On Purpose

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Joyce meyer

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude].

—Ephesians 4:23

A real breakthrough came for me in my love walk when I realized that love was something I needed to do on purpose. I could not wait to feel loving; I had to choose to be loving. The same rule applies to our thoughts. We must learn to think good thoughts about people on purpose.

We must learn to look for the good, not the bad, in everyone. We all have faults and weaknesses, but we all also have good qualities. I admit that we must look harder to find the good in some people than in others, but to be like Jesus, that is what we must do.

Jesus finds the good in everyone and magnifies that instead of the bad. He found the good in me and started developing it until it finally surpassed a lot of the things that were wrong with me. He has done the same thing for many of us, and He expects us to do the same for people we encounter every day.

Take a moment and try this experiment. Just sit and think some good thoughts on purpose about someone you know, and see how much better you feel about yourself. If you keep it up, you will begin to notice changes in that person’s attitude toward you. One reason that individual will change is that you will have changed.

Thinking good thoughts opens the door for God to work. If we want the Lord’s good plan to manifest in our lives, we must get into agreement with Him (Amos 3:3). He is not negative in any way, and according to the Bible, we have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)—but we must choose to use it.

We also have a mind of the flesh, and I often feel it is like the earth’s gravitational pull; if we don’t resist, we are pulled in its direction. Because of humanity’s sinful nature, our thoughts will automatically go in a negative direction unless we direct them otherwise.

Love Others Today: Choose to think good thoughts today–even if you don’t feel like it.