Guide Your Mind-Guard Your Heart-Grace Your TongueChikamu

Do you ever feel like you might have a dual personality? You can be sweeter than cotton candy to your pastor, your neighbor, and the women in your prayer group; however, when confronted with your husband’s messy ways, your children’s lack of discipline, or your mother’s controlling inter­ference, you become a screaming shrew with absolutely no evidence of the fruits of that delicious Holy Spirit! 

Let me assure you that you do not have a dual personality; you are simply a woman with both a soul and a spirit. Your soul, under the influence of the fallen human nature, will try to chain you to your emotions and lead you away from the character of Christ; your spirit always tries to imitate the truth of the Bible but will never force you to choose Christ over your disruptive emotions. Which do you want to be in control of your life—your soul or your spirit? 

The spirit is the life principle bestowed upon man by God; it is the part of a person that is able to grasp eternal concepts and sacred principles. Your spirit, quite simply, is the aspect of your being upon which the Spirit of God exerts its primary and life-changing influence. It is also the part of you that is assigned to guard your heart, or soul. 

The soul is strikingly different from the spirit; whereas the spirit is a higher and more honorable part of one’s unseen makeup, the soul is lower and often feeds on the empty calories of temporary issues and circum­stances. The Bible often refers to the soul as the mind or heart. 

When neglected, your spirit will exist in a weakened and ineffective position. Your soul must be fed healthy nutrients in order to function at its optimum performance level. The things that you elect to ingest emotionally will determine how healthy your soul is when life becomes challenging. 

Remember that your spirit sounds exactly like the Word of God when it talks, and that your soul often expresses itself with a victim mentality, and always demands its own way. The next time that you are in a challenging situation in life, allow your spirit to arise and tell your soul to sit down! 

Personal Application: Which do you think is primarily in charge of your personal life—your spirit or your soul?