Romans 6:20-23 HCSB
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification — and the end is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I have, quite literally, never watched Dr. Phil. The closest I've come is pausing on a rapid channel surf. I hear, however, that he is known for responding to his guests' revelations of their particular brand of crazy by asking, "how's that workin' out for you?"
Which is an excellent question. It is essentially what Paul is up to here. Just when we catch him admitting that the Christian life is tantamount to slavery, he comes back at us with, "you've lived a life 'liberated' from God's goodness and what do you have to show for it-other than stuff you're too embarrassed to talk about?"
Ouch.
Reality check: a life free of any allegiance is an allegiance in itself. To a life that ends in an unproductive, lonely embarrassing mess. But at least it's your mess, right? As my son would say, "Keep tellin' yourself that."
I gladly surrender myself, God of Holiness. I would rather be a slave to your Goodness than free to make a mess of my life. In Jesus. Amen.
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