The flesh is a battle that Christians face on a daily basis.  It manifests itself in different ways.  Often forgotten are the basics of the Word of God like having some humility and showing mercy to others.  There is a connection, that is in order to produce humility and mercy the Word of God must do a continual work in us through the Holy Spirit.  John and the apostles were struggling with this very problem.  The apostles struggled over who is the greatest, John thought only they should have power to do supernatural tasks.  Also, anyone that snubs Jesus; James and John would gladly be merciless and bring down fire from heaven on those people. 

Primary Scripture: Luke 9:49-55