I was the president of my fraternity in college. Many of us lived in the fraternity house and Friday night we would have a regular poker game. It happened almost every Friday night. Before you get the wrong idea, it was penny poker with a primary goal of just hanging out with friends. I enjoyed the time and so did my friends.
My senior year I got married. What an amazing adventure my wife, Janet and I began. The joy of spending time with her hasn’t diminished in over four decades. But as I look back at my college days and particularly my senior year, I stopped going to Friday night poker. Now I still enjoyed it and Janet didn’t have any objections. It’s just that I found something better to do on Friday nights…spending time with Janet.
Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh.” Put another way, it’s not a matter of all the things you shouldn’t do that defines a great life as a Christ-follower. It’s a matter of being consumed with the thing you should live for. Paul says clearly living by the Spirit is the way to live. In college, I found something better to do on Friday night. In life, I found something better than living for myself.