Provisions

April 18, 2020

“Make no provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14). As Paul begins wrapping up his great theological treatise, he does what he so often does in his writing. Having begun by laying a theological foundation, he builds upon it in very pragmatic ways. In the previous chapter and in the first two thirds of this one, he gave instructions concerning our relationships with one another. He will continue in that vein in chapter 14, but for four verses (11-14), he pauses to reflect upon how we conduct our inner life. 

He spoke similarly in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 where he said, “avoid all appearance of evil.” His words here are stronger. It’s one thing to avoid anything that appears to be evil; it is quite another to make no provision for it. Back in 1999, people were panicking over Y2K. Remember? “Computer clocks aren’t set for a change in millenia; the entire grid could shut down! There won’t be any food!” There was a rush on the supermarkets. Ten years later, my mother still had a case of canned beans from Y2K sitting in her closet. That scenario was repeated a few weeks ago as people cleaned out shelves of toilet paper, of all things. The cereal aisle at Walmart, normally full to overflowing, was completely empty. It looked like the shelves I saw regularly in Cuba. People were “making provision,” stocking up to make sure they didn’t run out.

Paul says we do the same thing spiritually, in a negative way. We stock up, making sure the flesh has the wherewithal to feed itself no matter what. What does that mean? It’s like the alcoholic keeping a secret stash, “just in case,” even as he attends his AA meetings. It’s the overweight person on Weight Watchers who keeps chips and dip on hand, or the young man who wants to be pure, but has memorized the links to pornographic sites.

But “the flesh” is not what people often think it is. Paul is not contrasting the physical and spiritual part of us. People often think of the flesh as things like lust, or addictions—bodily cravings. Paul uses an entirely different word for such things. The flesh can be bodily cravings, but it is also the grudge we carry against someone who wronged us, the greed or fear that causes us to purchase more than we need, the refusal to give thanks in the midst of depression or sorrow, the desire for holiness that succumbs to our reaching for a novel instead of the Scriptures, our sleepiness in prayer. We tell “little white lies,” make excuses, refuse to forgive. We “provide for” the flesh in a myriad of ways, most of which are quite socially acceptable, thank you.

So how do we stop making provision for the flesh? Paul’s first word is to wake up (v.11). Wipe the sleepiness from our spiritual eyes, and pay attention to what God is saying. Jesus told the story of a man who had all he needed and more, who decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Jesus called him a fool, because that night, he was going to die. We provide for the flesh by building bigger barns for all the spiritual garbage we love to accumulate. We would do well to start cleaning out those barns and begin laying away those things which feed the spirit—prayer, fasting, time in the Word, uplifting music and conversation, praise and thanksgiving. The more I provide for these, the less room I have in my heart for that which is destructive. Ephesians 4:27 says it this way: “Don’t give the devil a foothold.” 

I need to do some inventory. What provisions for the flesh are in my spiritual cupboard? What have I hidden away in the recesses of my heart’s closet for that time when I may want to judge someone, criticize, or cut them to ribbons with my tongue? It’s time for those provisions to be dragged out and thrown away, so there is room for the healthy food of the Spirit of God.