Tuesday | 03 March 2026

The law of my mind

The first consideration for every courting and married couple is the impact of the other law upon the establishment and expression of their marriage covenant. The alternative to establishing a bond or marriage covenant by receiving a remnant of the Spirit from the Father, is a vow that is based on self-centredness. Such a covenant is established through the strength of the flesh, being empowered by romantic intention. This intention is the promise that each spouse makes to fulfil the other person’s agenda.

While it is unlikely that a Christian couple would overtly endeavour to establish their marriage on the principles of the flesh, the reality of a vow that has been empowered by romantic intention is readily apparent when one fails to fulfil the agenda of the other. This perceived dereliction is viewed by the aggrieved spouse as a breach of promise and an ‘integrative flaw’ in their companion. That is, they view their partner as the reason for the ‘disintegration’ of their relational covenant. An adversarial judgement is made that provokes vengeance.

This emotive and self-justified response reveals that covetousness is the basis of their covenant. Envy becomes the power of vengeance because something else, or someone else, has replaced the person’s claimed priority. In other words, they are envious of something, or someone, who appears to have become more important to their spouse than them. This perceived betrayal gives rise to vengeful wrath, reflecting the observations of Solomon, who said, ‘Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, but who is able to stand before jealousy?’ Pro 27:4.

A marriage based on covetousness is controlled by another law, which is ‘the law of our mind’. ‘The law of our mind’ is self-centred. It operates on the basis of a person’s desire for self-preservation and to find life through self-realisation by appropriating, as a right, what God and others have promised as their expression of love and care for them. This orientation to life and to others, which belongs to ‘the law of our mind’, is the expression of ‘another law’ in a person’s members. Rom 7:23.