2026-07-05 Honey, It’s OK
Romans 7:15-25a
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
https://www.ted.com/talks/jessica_mccabe_this_is_what_it_s_really_like_to_live_with_adhd_sep_2017
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
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Wow! Paul's brain is stuck in an infinite loop. Paul, the Saint, Paul the 13th Apostle, Paul the architect of Christianity – Paul needs help. And he knows it. Paul needs God’s help. Paul’s asking for our help getting his mind unstuck. He wrote us a letter.
And Paul, I believe, Paul’s true confession can help us. Paul – and his letter – Paul can help us when we get stuck being loopy. Paul’s a very good, Biblical example. A reminder that when we can’t escape our own traffic circle, God goes grandmother mode, saying, “Honey, it’s OK.”
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How easy is it for you to ask for help? A lot of us think asking for help is weakness. “Man up!” “Put your big girl pants on.” “Suck it up, Buttercup.”
Do you think asking for help is weakness? A lot of us do. We think asking for help is weakness. Truth bomb: we ARE weak. We DO need help. We need to ask for help because we ARE weaker than we admit. We just don’t want to admit it. So then… we need help asking for help. What a conundrum.
Do you remember Bob the Builder? He’s the children’s cartoon figure who preaches, “Can we fix it? Yes we can!”
Bob’s got a toolbelt of fixit tools who talk to him. So, maybe Bob needs psychiatric help. But, he’s a man, so good luck convincing him.
Like when I try to fix things around the house. I have a tool belt. And… Kristen will tell you – I try. And then she calls a professional. Someone to fix my mistakes, and to fix the original problem.
Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from myself?
Paul needed fixing. Paul knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to do what was right, the first time. But he could he fix it? No he couldn’t. He did the wrong thing, again and again. It’s like he was at war with his own self.
How do we escape the infinite loop?
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Does anybody else have arguments with yourself? We all do.
The brain of Paul is very bossy. He knows what’s right. But he can’t bring himself to do it.
Not only does he think it, say it, he puts it in print. In a letter for everyone in the world to read, like a viral Facebook post. He hits send, in a Biblical-level a “Reply to All.”
Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually – Paul is messed up. And he knows it. And that makes it worse. How do you escape from yourself? How do you pay the ransom when your own brain is the kidnapper?
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We’re the same. Whether we admit it or not. Our emotional states, our spiritual states - are united states. We’re not just “y’all.” We’re “All y’all.” “All y’all” is us. And all y’all need help. And part of all y’all is Paul. Listen to him, y’all. And then listen to us.
Here in church, we say things like, “We’re all sinners. And we’re all saints.” And that sounds like a confession and a compliment, both. But when you think about it, what it’s saying is that we’re ALL at war within ourselves. Are you a sinner? Or are you a saint? And the answer is, Yes.
A mental war, an emotional war, a spiritual war – sometimes a physical war. We all know what’s right. We all know what we love. But we still can’t stop ourselves from doing what’s wrong, the things we hate. We can’t stop the things that bubble up, blurt out, bang on the walls of our brains, and – intentionally or not – things that hurt lovers and strangers alike. Paul isn’t the only one who’s messed up.
Lucy from Peanuts may offer psychiatric help for five cents. And if you can get it for that, your deductible is awesome. But Paul offers help the way a wise grandmother does – with a pitcher of sweet iced tea that calms the hot flash, a heartful of life experience. Grandma Pauline leans forward in her rocking chair and says, “I know that’s right. I’ve been there, too, baby. How we gonna declare a truce with ourselves?”
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Once upon a time, I was at a dinner in a Fellowship Hall. There was this one little girl whose power source was ON, with a capital ON. She talked. She talked. She talked. She ran in circles, full speed around the tables. She danced. She sang. She acted. It was like having dinner with Lady Gaga. All the adults were looking around, like, wondering if anyone brought duct tape. Except her parents, who really seemed to enjoy having someone else to talk to.
So, as often happens with children like her, she found her way to me. Why me? I don’t know. Game recognizes game? She sits down next to me and after asking me several times if I knew what 12 times 12 was – she didn’t care if I knew – she wanted me to know she knew – she leaned in close and whispered in my ear:
“I have ADHD.”
I said, “I know.”
God knows our fears, our hopes, our comforts, our cares. Our fears, our resistance. Our wars. God hears our prayers of desperation.
God says, “I know.”
Paul says, “I know.”
Jesus says, “I know.”
I know.
And honey, it’s OK.
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Paul was painfully honest about his own inner conflicts. The words we read today are twisted like spaghetti. Because Paul’s brain is like spaghetti. Tossed against the wall and tangling up all the way down.
I’m not a mental health professional, so I can’t say if Paul had ADHD, or OCD. A lot of time he was trying to avoid becoming DED. But it reads like Paul’s brain was a lot like that little girl, running in circles, trying, begging for someone to provide the right spiritual medication. Someone who knows what’s happening on the inside. Someone to say, I know, baby. It’s OK. You’re OK.
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Is there a way to tap out?
Can we be healed by the same one who has us in a head lock?
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“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” Bad, bad, despicable me. I think Paul speaks for a lot of us. We think, my mistakes are all I am. The circles I’m stuck in are who I am. Why am I like this? Why can’t my brain work the way normal people’s do? Is this how God made me?
We get to the end of this reading and Paul just hits a dead end. He does not solve the problem. Instead of fixing it, he pulls up to the intersection, throws up his hands, and says, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Thanks? Thanks for what? He doesn’t say. Not every prayer has an answer.
It’s not a solution. But it is a redirect. He proves to himself and to us that his mind CAN change. Our minds can change. Even though we might not FEEL thankful, even if we don’t FEEL sorted out, God is bigger than our feelings. God is bigger than how messed up we feel today. God is bigger than today’s battles. There are other roads ahead.
I mean, think of it: our inner battles are waged in three pounds of squishy gray matter between our ears, a measly two percent of our body mass, and just a tiny, tiny speck compared to the vast glory of God’s creation. And thank God for that!
Even if we’re not worthy of praise, God is. And even if we didn’t touch his garment this time, Jesus – the Bible says – will come around again. We’ll get another chance. With help and with time we can turn our attention to something greater than our own life’s disorder.
Jesus told people, “Follow me.” Where? Where was he going? He didn’t say and they didn’t know. Somewhere. Somewhere else.
And if you’re stuck in your own battles, anywhere else is better. If you or your child or your parent or a friend is stuck running in circles, if nothing else, take a breather to praise God that there is help. Thank God for the helpers. Trust me, they love it when you ask for help. All y’all are surrounded by a church full of people who live to help people in need. Grandmas love to share wisdom. Grandpas love to fix things. Sometimes, they can look like little children, who dance and sing, and remind you, there’s plenty of life worth praising.
All of us – all y’all have been Paul at one time or another. Praise God that like Paul, with help, we can battle our demons, even the demons of our own making.
We all need help.
God says, “I know.”
“I know.
“And honey,
it’s OK.”
Let’s pray.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And Lord, oh Lord, sometimes we’re all twisted up on the inside. We get twisted up on the outside. We know what’s right, but we can’t bring ourselves to do it. Help us. Help us ask for help. Help us help other people who don’t know where to turn. Help us to turn to you, or to turn to someone who looks enough like you to bring us peace. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
