Why? Why is it so hard to live like Christ sometimes? Why don’t we always give God attention? Why do we still mess up and sin, and hurt God, when we profess to love Him? How can we go days without thinking about our Creator and our Savior? How can we go from one moment praising God to the next moment neglecting to acknowledge Him? If we are a new creation, why do we still act like the old sometimes? Is it sin? The Bible says that we are free from sin (Romans 6:7,18). So if we are actually free from sin, meaning it has no power over us, then why do we still sin? No one can serve two masters (Matt 6:24, Luke 16:13), but why do we find ourselves at times going back and forth? If we are to be “transformed” (Rom 12:2), then how is it even possible that we are acting as our old form? Why and how does apathetic Christianity exist sometimes?

Lately, not many things seem to frustrate me more than Christians who claim the name but don’t walk like it. They say they love God, but don’t always have the fruit to back it up. They claim to be trying and fighting temptation, but there is little proof shown in their walk. When I see this type of behavior in my close brothers in Christ, I find myself even more frustrated, sometimes even to the point of anger. And in these times, I’ve realized that I become this frustrated due to the fact that I see this pattern in my own walk and far too regularly. I know I’m transformed; I know I’m a new creature. I see fruit. I know that Christ has broken my chains of sin that would otherwise hold me back, and I know what He demands of me. Then why do I still struggle? Why do I still sin? Why does apathy exist in my heart sometimes, when that’s where Christ is all the time? I think the answer to these tough questions can be summed up in a somewhat simple answer: We lose focus. We don’t keep our eyes on God, at ALL times, as we should. We get distracted. Things happen. Life happens. Sin creeps in, unexpectedly, unknowingly. Our focus is shifted and lost. I don’t believe there is such a thing as “standing still” in the Christian walk. If you are not actively pursuing God, then you are moving away from Him. The Christian walk isn’t a day-to-day journey, it’s second-to second. And I believe we begin to struggle in those seconds because we lose focus on God.

The Apostle Paul talked candidly about this behavior in his own life in his letter to the Romans. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Rom 7:15,18-20). So this problem is identified as rooted from sin. He continues, “When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (7:21-25). Paul describes this behavior as an on-going and active battle between obeying God and obeying sin. He shows desperation, along with hope, trusting that Christ will indeed rescue him. It’s in his mind that he must submit as a slave to God’s law. It’s our sin nature that inclines us to be slaves to sin.

Paul continues in chapter 8 to explain that though we battle against sin, we have been set free from its power. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (8:1-2). So now that we are aware of what the battle is that we’re in, and that we can indeed win this battle against sin, how does Paul indicate we do it? He says the answer lies in what our minds are set on. “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (8:5). Our minds must be focused on what the Spirit desires. And how do we know what He desires if not to seek Him and study about Him in His word; stay focused on Him. Paul’s conclusion of the matter: “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (8:12-14). We may have righteous desires, but we won’t ever fulfill them apart from the Spirit and His leading. We can’t try to win this battle on our own.

When we struggle with a sin, a lot of times we try to focus on ways to beat that sin, when we should just try focusing on God. Start thinking about God and His law, and not about the sin. Start talking to God and praising Him, and meditate on His words. Get your focus on Him. Something that has helped me stay focused lately is every time I think about God, I pray to God. Whenever I hear something about Him or just have a thought about Him, I instantly start talking to Him; it helps me stay focused on Him. And I’ve found myself thinking about Him more. And as Paul told us, we can’t be ignorant to this battle going on between what the Spirit wants and with sin’s desires. We need to stay focused on Him and His desires, and then they will become ours. Let’s have a closeness like Joseph did, where when faced with a sin temptation, our immediate response is, “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Gen 39:9).

So why is it so hard to live like Christ sometimes? Because we can’t do it on our own. Because we need Christ to live like Christ. We need the Spirit to have the desires of the Spirit. We need to keep our focus on God. Why do we struggle? We are in an active battle against sin, and we must be prepared at all times. We cannot afford to take our eyes off the Prize. And how can we keep our focus? Praying without ceasing (1 Thes 5:17) and meditating on His Word day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2) is a good start.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3).