I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Rom. 7:15)
Expanded Passage: Romans 7:14-15
I think Paul inspired Dr. Seuss. Whether speaking of foxes in boxes, trains with planes, blocks on clocks, or just what Mr. Moo can do, the twentieth-century author and cartoonist twists my tongue in a way that reminds me of Paul, the first-century missionary. While I know all the words that Seuss so sleekly strings together, I don’t always say them right. I do not speak what it is I read, and what I read is not what I speak. Paul captures our spiritual conundrum with just as much style. Paul’s tongue-twisting words only reinforce that our souls are twisted too. Far more serious than the tongue not articulating what the eyes are reading is the will not aligning with one’s actual actions.
In the midst of an in-depth discussion of three different laws—the Old Testament law, the law of sin, and the law of the Spirit—Paul drops this description of our spiritual state before God’s rescue and empowering. It is tempting to skip the tongue-twisting words for some happier teaching, but sit in Paul’s phrase for a moment. While Dr. Seuss doesn’t often describe reality with his rambling rhymes, Paul certainly does with this snippet from Romans. Since Paul so clearly knows our spiritual state, let his true-to-life description strengthen your trust in Scripture.
Pause and appreciate Scripture’s keen insight into human experience.
Aaron Perry serves as director of Wesleyan academic initiatives for Education and Clergy Development of The Wesleyan Church.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
