Romans 7:15

"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15).

Question:

I am teaching Spiritual Economics by Eric Butterworth, and he quotes this chapter and verse by Paul in the chapter dealing with the law of visualization. I would like to explain this to my students.

 

Comment:

I can't speak to Eric Butterworth's intention in citing this passage, but it seems to me to be a clear description of the human condition. This is part of a fairly convoluted passage in which Paul speaks to the inner conflict between the law and sin. As a spiritual being fully One with the Divine, spiritual law is an integral part of my spiritual identity.  And yet I sin—that is, I make choices in this human experience that are at odds with the spiritual law I know to be true.  

The answer to this conundrum, I think, is that for much of my life I lived in ignorance of my own true identity as Spirit. Out of that ignorance I made choices based in a belief in fear and limitation. Because I AM a creative being, those choices expressed as negative experiences. And I hear Paul saying that those negative beliefs are so deeply entrenched in my consciousness (as well as our collective consciousness) that without vigilance they can lead to repetitions of choices I know in Truth to be unproductive. In terms of spiritual economics, it suggests that I may fully know my Oneness with divine abundance and still find myself making choices based on old beliefs. It takes vigilance to dissolve the old beliefs to allow Spirit to fully express.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed