Every
facet of creation reflects the wisdom, power, and love of Almighty God, and our
earthly bodies are among His most beautiful and awe-inspiring works. From the microscopic red blood cell, to the
vast integumentary system, the details of our human anatomy can only be the
product of a divine Creator.
Over the
past 17 years, my bedside experience in nursing has been primarily with cardiac
patients. The heart is an extraordinary
organ! It begins beating twenty-two days
after conception and does not stop until death.
Its function affects every system, every tissue, and every organ in our
bodies.
While
working with patients in the early and advanced stages of cardiovascular
disease, I developed a greater appreciation the body’s innate ability to heal
and its built-in responses that compensate when other systems fail. I took special interest in the role of the
sympathetic nervous system, and its effect which is commonly referred to as the
“fight-or-flight” response.
When we
find ourselves faced with difficult, dangerous, or stressful situations, the
sympathetic nervous system is activated.
Through a series of nerve impulses and the subsequent release of
hormones, our bodies experience a variety of physical changes, including an
increase in heart rate, an increase in blood pressure, an increase in sweat
production, an increase in respiratory rate, and pupil dilation. These
changes are designed to help us survive threatening situations by preparing us
to either fight for our lives or run for our lives!
When I
consider this amazing God-given capability within our human bodies, I can’t
help but recognize a spiritual application for the Christian. The Bible describes a type of “fight or
flight” response when we, as children of God, are faced with the threat of
temptation. Confronted with certain
temptations, we must stand ready to fight, but there are other situations in
which we are simply commanded to run.
The Apostle
Paul, when writing to the church at Corinth and later in letters to young
Timothy, encouraged those Christians to run from temptation. He instructed them to flee:
·
sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)
·
idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14)
·
the love of money (1 Timothy 6:9-11)
·
youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22)
There are occasions where we are not expected
to fight temptation, instead, we should immediately remove ourselves from the threat. Run away!
Remember the story in the Bible of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife:
“But it happened about this time, when
Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was
inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left
his garment in her hand, and fled
and ran outside.” (Genesis 39:11-12)
As
important as it is, running is not always the appropriate response. At times, we encounter circumstances,
spiritually, that require us to fight. We are exhorted in scripture to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude
1:3). In other words, fight for what you
believe! We are also told, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
(James 4:7). Stand firm against the
actions of the devil and he will run
from you!
How
then do Christians prepare themselves for the spiritual “fight or flight”
response? Just as the sympathetic
nervous system causes physical changes in our bodies which prepare us to deal
with situations in the world around us, we also have biblical instruction on
how we prepare to deal with temptations as we encounter them in our daily lives.
1. We pray. “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak.” (Mark 14:38)
2. We read and study the Word of God. It is our offensive weapon – the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). It was Jesus’ strategy for opposing the devil
in the wilderness: “It is written…” (Matthew 4:1-11)
3. We recognize our weaknesses. “But
each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”
(James 1:14).
4. We confess our sins to one another. “Confess
your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be
healed” (James 5:16). Lean on your
brothers and sisters in Christ for help and accountability. Pray for each other!
Fighting
or fleeing; both take courage, and both take preparation. Through prayer, Bible study, recognizing
temptation, and support from other Christians we can have the strength and
readiness to take action when confronted with the threat of sin. In our physical bodies, this response is
designed to support self-preservation;
in our spiritual lives, however, it’s an eternal matter of soul-preservation.
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