There is a civil war waged between the new heart and the old nature. Romans 7–8 describes it quite well. Part of me doesn’t want to love my neighbor—not when his son just backed his car into my Jeep and smashed it up. I want to take the little brat to court. Part of me knows that prayer is essential; another part of me would rather turn on the TV and check out. And that whole bit about long-suffering—no way. Part of me wants to just get drunk. And that is the part I must crucify daily, give no ground to, make no alliance with. It’s not the true me (Romans 7:22). It’s my battle with the flesh. We all know that battle well. But that is not what I’m wanting to explore here.

No, there’s something else we are describing when we say, “Well, part of me wants to and part of me doesn’t.” It’s more than a figure of speech. We might not know it, but something really significant is being revealed in those remarks. There are these places that we cannot seem to get beyond. Everything is going along just fine, and then—boom. Something suddenly brings you to tears or makes you furious, depressed, or anxious, and you cannot say why.  I’ll tell you why.

We are not wholehearted.

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