Lesson 25: Living the Right Life
Read Galatians 5:1-26 - www.bible.com/bible/59/gal.5
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Our verses today may be short, but there is powerful information in these few words.

First, what does it mean to live by the Spirit? We read a little about this in the last lesson, about being filled with the Spirit and how to stay filled. Living by the Spirit is staying filled all the time. It does not matter if we are sitting in a classroom, working at our job, going to the grocery store to shop for food, taking out the garbage, mowing the lawn, fixing the broken thing on the back door, doing homework – or any of the other hundreds of little things we do in our lives each day. Living our regular life should be living by the Spirit in every moment.


The rest of this verse tells us how – we keep in step with the Spirit. Keeping in step with someone means we walk alongside them, or run with them as fast as they run. We do not lag behind because we are tired or distracted or busy with other things. We do not run ahead because we are eager to do what God’s Spirit has asked. We do not step to the side to explore other things along the way. We stay in step with Him at all times.

Second, we walk with the Spirit without thinking of ourselves. Our second verse tells us the dangerous attitudes we could easily fall into when we want to walk with the Spirit.

Being conceited is pride because we believe we are doing a better job of being spiritual than someone else is doing. Remember, we never measure our spiritual walk with that of another human being; we only measure ourselves with God. When we measure alongside of God, we will always know we have far to go to be like Him; but rather than being discouraged about our lack, we are encouraged to keep growing by His love poured out on us.

Provoking another person means we are being critical of them rather than being encouraging and helpful to them in their walk with the Spirit. Remember, Jesus’ commandment to us is always to love each other as He has loved us – John 13-17 and 1 Corinthians 13.

Envying someone is being jealous of what they have or thinking God loves them more than He loves us. God loves each of His children the same – with all the love He is. God also made each of us unique individuals to serve a specific place in His kingdom. While it is true that if we choose not to do what He asks of us then He will send someone else to do that job, we, whom He created specifically for this job with all its blessings, will be the loser. Our own truest satisfaction in this life comes only from being exactly the person He created us to be.

 *Who did God create you to be?