2005-07-08
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Living in God's light is not natural to the natural self. It's why we were made "new creations" in union with Christ, and that the old self was gone and the new has come [2 COR 5: 17]. We are not left to guess what that new self means either, in God's continuing work on us or in how we should change our thoughts and behavior. God's work is described in COL 3:10 when we are told that "God is constantly renewing us in His image, so that we may have a great knowledge of Himself." COL 3: 5, 9 give us clear descriptions of how the new self is to behave. COL 3: 5, 9-10a, "You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry)…Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self.
More clarification of God's expectations are shared in EPH 5: 3-6, 8b, 10, 18-20. "Since you are God's people, it is not right that any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you. Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane, or vulgar. Rather you should give thanks to God. You may be sure that no one who is immoral, indecent, or greedy (for greed is s form of idolatry) will ever receive a share in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. Do not let anyone deceive you with foolish words; it is because of these very things that God's anger will come upon those who do not obey Him"…So you must live like people who belong to the light…Try to learn what pleases the Lord…Do not get drunk with wine, which will only ruin you; instead, be filled with the Sprit. Speak to one another with words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father." Are we thinking, "This is too tall an order for us?" Or, are we thinking, "This will be a big change, but I've been miserable enough not doing these things that I'm really ready to try doing them?" God has never asked us to do anything He didn't first equip us to do. But, He never promised all these changes would come easily to all people.
Whether a particular change in thought and deed comes easily or not, we are expected to make it. I've already shared the difficulty I've had over my lifetime in ridding myself of the habit of swearing at times. But, where there is a will, there is a way! I'm a work in progress, but I am letting these dishonorable words slip out of me less often. It should not be lost on us that God has led Paul to mention twice over that greed is a form of idolatry. Sadly, I must offer the opinion that I believe greed is rampant in our society today. It takes the form of materialism- "keeping up with the Jones'," litigiousness, and shady business practices. Another form it takes is the philosophy: the "bottom line is all that matters," while those making decisions care less about the negative consequences to employees, their families, or even the company's reputation for excellence. And, that is a very incomplete list of all the ways that greed exerts itself. Rick Warren commented in The Purpose Driven Life, "Don't settle for just achieving the "good life," because the "good life" isn't good enough…Figure out what you love to do-what God gave you a heart to do-and then do it for His glory." His suggestion is a complete paradigm shift from the greed and values of the natural self. Having finally taken his suggestion about 15 years ago in my own career, I can tell you he is totally on the mark.
All of this is a lot of hard work for the believer, and I guess one would have to say hard work is an apt description for the process of sanctification itself. This change of thought and behavior can begin as early as grade school. I can't help but think of a cheating incident that went on in my own fourth grade class. Before the wrongdoers were identified, the entire class was placed in jeopardy. The teacher told us that if the perpetrators didn't own up to their misdeeds, the whole class would all be given a zero on the assignment. They finally did admit their wrongful behavior, but not until the eleventh hour and some heavy-duty pressure had been put on them in the school yard. As a former inner city high school teacher, I'm sad to report that many parents in the high school district where I taught all those years ago didn't want to hear that their child was getting himself in trouble. In some cases, the parents refused to either admit there was a problem and/or refused to cooperate with me in its solution. I spent more time taking guns and knives off of students than teaching chemistry! That was one of many factors that led to my decision to go back to school and change careers. How sad it makes me to think that even the most elite schools, places like Princeton and the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, have been shaken at times with widespread cheating incidents. God has made clear His will for us, and He has equipped us to conform to it and be blessed by making that decision.
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge Your directive to live in the light of truth, faith, and obedience to You. You know how difficult some of this is for us, and we offer You praise and thanks for staying the course with us in patience. You are a compassionate and loving Deity, and we profess our faith in You. We come before Your throne today to admit we are sinners, desperately in need of Your guidance, correction, encouragement, and love. Our heart's desire is to comply with Your will, a task sometimes very hard for us. And yet, we know that we owe it to You to try. PS 51: 10-12 is our plea. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." The burdens we bear are often caused by our imperfections. We acknowledge Your loving heart and power to save us from ourselves. PS 68: 19-20, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, Who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God Who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death." Throughout the ages, You have been there for us, and You have said You will be there for us forever. Your word applies now, as it has always in the past and will always in the future. In IS 43: 1b-3, You claimed us by name and promised to protect us. What greater love could we ever find? MICAH 6: 8 is where You told us what You require of us. "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of You? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." We come before You on our knees with our heads bowed to plead for You to guide us and to help us through our efforts to obey Your will for our thoughts and behavior. We want nothing more than to live in Your light, as You have commanded us to do. Your light quickens our hearts, changes our thoughts, and causes us to please You with the decisions we make and actions we take. Your have told us in MT 5: 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. We thank and praise You for Your loving presence in our lives, for giving Your Son on the cross, so that we may be saved with the hope of resurrection, and for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide, encourage, correct, and comfort us. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, the Holy Spirit directs me to write more about the behavior changes we need to make to live in the Lord's light. Recently, after teaching a session of my "Our Jewish Roots" class, we got into a discussion of what we must do to make God the center of our lives. For those battling certain idols in their lives, this is no easy task. I shared with the class our need to examine the issue of materialism in our own lives. We are blessed to live in a country where we don't have to worry about empty grocery shelves, or go without the basic needs of life [food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc.], or have no access to adequate medical care. And yet, there are some people in our own country [not to mention other countries] who are going without these things. They ask: Where is God? God has never left us, but He has certainly had His patience tried with the decisions and actions of some. The rising cost of real estate in CA and medical care all over the country has its foundations in greed and uncaring decisions made. This cuts across the entire fabric of our society. Each of us has a responsibility to take steps to solve these problems. This can be done by electing people in government who will truly tackle these problems without self-aggrandizement or greed in mind. It also means rolling up our sleeves and helping those less fortunate than ourselves, not for personal gain, but for increasing God's territory in their lives. Our loving missionaries who leave the comforts of their homes to do this, pleasing God beyond measure. But we can be His "ambassadors" [2 COR 5: 20] right here at home in our own communities and please God this way. We must never forget our God loves us and wants what is best for each of us in the eternal sense.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn