Romans :8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (NASB)
How simple is it to make a determination of where you are in your walk! Simply look at what your focus is: things of the flesh or things of the Spirit. Your focus moves you toward where you will spend your time and resources. What is the focus of your casual conversation? What are your preferences? Even when you are working, are you serving mankind or are you grudgingly doing the minimum to get a paycheck? Do you focus on presenting yourself as a humble but joyful representative of Our Heavenly Father or do you project an air of entitlement, expecting others to exalt you in some manner?
8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
The ultimate result of placing your focus on the Spirit is life and peace and it will keep you sustained in the times ahead. Jesus taught us about progression in our area of focus:
Mark 4:24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (NKJV)
If you say you are too busy to focus on the Kingdom, you are half correct- you are too busy with things that ultimately don’t matter. Those things will probably wither away or be burned up at some point anyway. My neighbor built a workshop and filled it full of tools. Now his disease has made him too frail to work in the shop. This summer, he expects to have an auction and sell all the tools. Was it worth it? Only if he ministered life to others. Otherwise, it was simply a waste of time and money. Was working in his shop the essence of a temporal reward in lieu of the greater reward in Heaven? Only he and Our Heavenly Father know for sure.
8:7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
The carnal mind, ego, or “false self” is hostile toward Our Heavenly Father and HIS Laws of Love. It can’t love because it is filled with self-preservation and self-satisfaction. There is no focus on others. It can’t promote life because it has taken you down the path of death. Love overcomes this alternate path and our foundation must be on Love. Wisdom without Love is a worldly wisdom and is temporary and fleeting at best.
8:8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Whether a servant or a son, you should be interested in pleasing Our Heavenly Father. A mature son takes on HIS nature which is the essence of pleasing HIM. That is the son who will be given the inheritance to continue to promote the life of the family. The Kingdom on earth will be established by mature sons and daughters who are not serving their flesh by have their focus firmly directed to the things of the Spirit. By the way, you can be focused on these things as you carry out your daily duties. You will be blessed with greater productivity as you do.