You arrive at a moment of crisis. Perhaps you are in your boss’s office or the medical clinic. You’re fighting with your spouse or you’ve heard bad news. The heat is on and the pressure’s rising.

What do you do?

The smart thing to do is take five, lean into God, and see what he says. Let him guide you through the storm. But that’s not what your flesh wants to do. Oh no. Your flesh wants to ACT NOW, take charge and work the problem.

What is the flesh?

The flesh refers to our natural selves as opposed to our spirits. To heed the flesh is to lean on your own strength and understanding. It’s walking by sight instead of faith.

When faced with a crisis, your flesh will instinctively react. It will want to run or fight or take charge. It’s perfectly natural. But the problem is your flesh can distract you from the Lord. Listen to your flesh and you may miss what the Spirit is saying.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Here are 30 ways that our flesh reacts to trouble:

• Chicken flesh – “Trouble? I’m outta here”
• Quitter flesh – “That’s it, I’m done, we’re through”
• Bully flesh – “It’s my way or the highway”
• Nike flesh – “Just do it, git ‘er done”
• Cavalry flesh – “I need to be needed”
• Sunny-day flesh – “We’re okay” (even when we’re not okay)
• I’m right you’re wrong flesh – “Yeah, but…”
• Whiney flesh – “Pleeeease? I’ll be your friend”
• Detective flesh – “I’m gonna figure you out”
• Macgyver flesh – “I’m gonna fix this”
• Martyr flesh – “If I don’t do it, nobody will”
• Scrooge flesh – “You’ll get nothing from me”
• Daddy Warbucks flesh – “Let me write a check”
• Magnifier flesh – “This is a huuuge problem”
• Maverick flesh – “I don’t need nuttin’ from anyone”
• Loner flesh – “Nobody understands me”
• Self-pity flesh – “Nobody loves me”
• Ken & Barbie flesh – “I need to look good”
• Mr Hyde flesh – “Don’t make me angry!”
• Insecure flesh – “What do you mean by that?”
• Can’t say no flesh – “Sure boss, I can work weekends”
• Histrionic flesh – “Look at meeee!”
• Workaholic flesh – “I don’t have time for this right now”
• Herod flesh – “You need to know your place”
• Boss flesh – “You need to lift your game”
• Anxious flesh – “It’s hopeless”
• Victim flesh – “It’s not my fault”
• Milquetoast flesh – “I won’t make trouble”
• Mature flesh – “I used to think like you but I’ve grown”
• Religious flesh – “Thank God I am not like you”
• Christian flesh – “My Jesus is better than your Jesus”

Know your lures. Your flesh will tempt you with the promise of control (“You got this!”) while robbing you of the opportunity to hear your Father.

When the pressure comes, don’t react. Stop.

Be still. Breathe.

Hit the pause button, and ask your Father how to lead you in the path of life.

What flesh types did I miss? Let me know in the comments below?

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This list was inspired by Ralph Harris’s excellent book, God’s Astounding Opinion of You, chapter 7. An earlier version of this article appeared on Patreon and I am grateful for feedback provided by patrons. To learn more, check out the entry for The Flesh in the Grace Glossary.

The flesh is one of the most confusing words in the Bible. What does it mean? And is the flesh good or bad?

Why did Paul say he was alive in the flesh but then say he had crucified the flesh? Why does he say the body of the flesh has been circumcised (so it’s gone, right), then say he served sin with his flesh (no wait, it’s back!).

It doesn’t make sense.

Nor does it help when some Bibles mistranslate the original word for flesh (sarx) as sinful nature. (I’m looking at you New International Version.)

Fear not. The flesh is not hard to understand. Below is everything you need to know about the flesh. For a full list of scripture references and explanatory notes check out my entry for “The Flesh” in the Grace Glossary.

Everything You Need to Know about the Flesh

The flesh can refer to: (1) our physical bodies, (2) people, or (3) worldly unspiritual things.

To be “in the flesh” means (1) being alive “in the body” or (2) an unbeliever living disconnected from God and living solely from their connection to the physical world. It is walking by sight instead of faith. You are not in the flesh, if the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The lusts/desires of flesh include wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, and wanting to appear important. In a word, the flesh craves control.

To walk according the flesh or sow to the flesh or carry out the desires of the flesh is to live without regard for the things of God. It’s trusting in yourself (your abilities, your understanding) and living solely from the basis of your earthly experience (what you see, hear, touch, know, etc.). Like a butterfly who acts as a caterpillar, walking after the old ways of the flesh is abnormal for a believer.

The desires of the flesh give rise to the deeds of the flesh or the deeds of the body. These include selfishness, sexual immorality, materialism, manipulation, resentment, quarrels, unrestrained ambition, temper tantrums, drunkenness, being envious, and so forth. Fleshly works also include law-keeping, self-denial, long-winded praying and other activities done to curry favor with God.

The things of the flesh are those things that are valued in the world such as human effort, reputation and accomplishments. They can be contrasted with the unseen and eternal things of the Spirit.

A mind set on the flesh is focused on self-preservation and the things of the flesh. An obsession with self leads inevitably to conflict, dissension and death. In contrast, a mind set on the spirit puts God at the center and looks to him to supply our needs. Being led by the spirit leads to everlasting life and peace.

To have weak flesh means my unspiritual body is incapable of living the life that God desires for me.

The flesh profits nothing because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We all need to be born of the Spirit.

The body of the flesh is another name for your old self.

Having crucified the flesh with its passions and desires means I am done with that inferior and unspiritual way of life. I make no provision for the flesh because I am not a debtor to the flesh. The flesh holds no appeal for me because I am walking according to the new and better way of spirit.

Image source.

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“Know your flesh types.” In the bonus materials for this article, I list 25 ways your flesh reacts to pressure. Available now on Patreon.