Romans 6:19-23 (NIV)
19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Many times to convince his readers of the truth of God Paul simply employed the question of, "How is that working for you?" Well he didn't quite put it that way he said things like, "What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?" One of things that a former psychologist turned philosopher by the name of William James said in his philosophy of Pragmatism is that, 'in the end what ever you believe it must work'. I believe that William James is absolutely correct in his estimate of a philosophy of life. I believe that following Jesus Christ works and it works in whatever circumstance you find yourself. I believe that following Jesus is a benefit and not a negative. By us becoming slaves of God we reap the benefit of holiness and that results in eternal life. Holiness is one of the most wonderful truths taught in the Word of God and yet if a book came out and its title was, "How to Be Holy" my guess is it would not sale many copies. If the title was let's say, "How to Be Happy" then the interest would really be piqued.

Yet, what I know to be true in the Bible is that the more holier we become, that is we are becoming like Jesus Christ, then as a result we become a happier people. If the wages of sin is death then it behooves us to turn over our body, mind, and soul to righteousness. Maybe right now you could pray a prayer something like, "Lord here I am, all of me, please take my mind, my lips, my hands, my feet, and most of all, my heart and make them yours, in Jesus name, amen!"

Although we just heard this quote a few days back it is worth revisiting after today's reading:

It is the great moment of our lives when we decide that sin must die right out, not be curbed or suppressed or counteracted, but crucified.

Oswald Chambers (1874–1917)