Blazin Bones
Member
Well, Jesus gives us an idea every time he had to scold the disciples for their lack of faith. Doubting God's power as the disciples often did and rebelling against God's teachings are both sin. We may tend to give ourselves more slack when we sin because of doubts, but it is submission to the flesh nonetheless. How does one combat fleshly living? Maybe there is something to that whole daily taking up our cross and following Jesus thing....
Whether we are talking about marriage, the ways we manage our finances, or even the decisions we make in our choices of entertainment; everything we do speaks to the spiritual condition of our lives. So the clear take-away from this is that spiritual growth is something that is needed in every portion of our lives. Marriage may be one that often takes priority, because if we do not mature in how we live for the Lord in this aspect of our lives, we are harming more than just ourselves. However, let's not forget that we can really find deficiencies fairly easy if we take the time to examine our whole life. Maybe that is why both Paul and Peter encouraged us to consistently examine our faith to assure we are growing closer to the Lord.