What does Romans 13:14 mean?

Paul is urging those of us in Christ to change the way we live. We don't belong to the darkness any longer. The sun is coming up. It's time for us to leave behind the works and darkness and live as if we're standing in the light.

In the previous verse, he described some of the nighttime activities we must leave behind. Here's what we must do, instead: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. The metaphor at work has to do with what we wear. In verse 12, Paul told us to cast off the works of darkness. Instead, we will symbolically wear Jesus. In other words, our goal as Jesus-followers is to live as Jesus would live. That would include all of Paul's commands and instructions in Romans 12 and 13. The opposite of this happens when we arrange our lives to satisfy our flesh.

When Paul uses the word "flesh," he means more than just sexual immorality. He means all the human appetites we experience to feel good, to get what we want, and to be treated well. It's not wrong to want any of those things, per se, but those cravings become sinful when we serve them above all others and are willing to harm others to gratify them. Instead, as Jesus did, we must put others first and trust God to provide for us in all other ways.