The Monster Inside Us!

Crucifying the Flesh: Killing the Monster Within

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24

Have you ever spent time with someone so self-centered and chronically discontent that, after a few hours, you want to jump out of a moving car? By the end, you wonder why you keep making time for them.

We are called to show God’s grace and love to people like that. But there is one “person” we must never indulge. That “person” is our old nature—the flesh. It is the monster inside us we must refuse to carry any longer.

Who Is This Monster?

It is the part of us we detest when we see ourselves clearly: self-absorbed, never satisfied, always saying “I want, I need, I must have.” This monster pushes us into foolish choices with real consequences and shocks us with its capacity for darkness.

"Now the works of the flesh are evident: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21

The monster resists God, shuns correction, justifies itself, blames others—even God—and sows division. It craves love and indulgence yet refuses to truly love others. This is why humanity cannot find lasting peace.

Our Worst Enemy

This monster is the part of us that listens to Satan. "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do." John 8:44. The more we follow the flesh, the harder and darker the heart becomes, ending in death. "If you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Romans 8:13

Our Spirit Desires to Live

Something within us resists the monster. Even when the spirit is dull, the God-given conscience wrestles with the flesh. "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord." Proverbs 20:27. God longs to revive us. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you." Ezekiel 36:26

What Love Really Requires

Many dream of a world filled with love and peace, but lasting change begins when we take responsibility for the monster within and surrender it to Christ. As Tolstoy observed, everyone wants to change the world; few want to change themselves. The gospel calls us to that change.

Why will Heaven be peaceful? Because God’s glory fills all—and the flesh has no power there. On earth, true peace grows as we lay down our lives, letting God’s love reign in us.

Only God Can Kill the Monster

You can try to cage the flesh with therapy, medication, or meditation, but at best you will contain it. Look deep enough without God and you will still find the monster reaching for the controls. Look to God, and you will find Jesus—the fountain of love and peace, the only answer.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Galatians 5:22-23

Summary

  • The “flesh” is the inner monster that must be crucified, not coddled. Galatians 5:24
  • The works of the flesh destroy peace and keep us from God’s kingdom. Galatians 5:19-21
  • Only God can replace a heart of stone with a new heart and Spirit. Ezekiel 36:26
  • Life and peace come by the Spirit, not by the flesh. Romans 8:13
  • In Christ, the monster dies and the fruit of the Spirit grows. Galatians 5:22-23