I have a pet sin, a private little darkness that I love, and hate. It disgusts my Inmost Me and so he forms a coalition with my Intellect. Together, they strategize how the sin must go. They persuade my Body into kneeling and prostrating itself. There is repentance, sorrow, and even moist eyes.
Inmost Me and Intellect bring God close and rejoice over his healing. They sign covenants and make speeches about how I can help others out of the same problem. They’re at peace, and even my fickle body joins their sacred repose.
My Old Nature watches Inmost Me and Intellect from the corner. He’s not welcome in their deliberations, so he lets them talk about him as they post lists of what will not be tolerated in the house. They may want to please God, but he has no such desire.
Old Nature lets his enemies finish their self-congratulatory ceremonies and drift into a confident sleep. Then he slithers out to the garbage heap, and brings the abandoned sin back into the house.
Inmost Me and Intellect awaken, stunned that all their work has been so easily undone. They rouse Body to ask what happened, but he only shrugs and points at Old Nature.
And so the house war is on again. There are big plans afoot. There must be deeper repentance and better accountability. Old Nature is bound and gagged. Tighter rules are posted.
As he sulks in his corner again, Old Nature’s gaze is on his favorite sin, out in the garbage heap. And he nibbles at the ropes.
There’s only one hope for a person like me—that Jesus would see my struggle and, at the end of my days, he would honor my Inmost Me and Intellect for never giving up, and that he would, at last, destroy my Old Nature.
Prayer: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, my only hope.