Thursday, February 20, 2014

I'm A Good Person

We tell the students to 'be nice', and remind them what we're learning in Bible class about being friends. Being kind, being loyal... acting like the Bible tells you to.

But that's not enough, is it?

Being a good person isn't enough. You- we- I still fall short of the glory of God and his righteous requirements.

Learning what the Bible says and obeying its Directions On Living is the beginning-- but it's not an end. It's not enough.

We need to obey, yes, but our heart has to be in the right place. Remember-- God looks at the heart, at your intentions. Are you being moral to please people? To make people stop lecturing you? Because you know it's right? Because being moral is good? Or, are you acting the way the Bible directs because you want to worship God and glorify him?

At some point you realize you can't do it on your own. You realize there are people that push your buttons, but you still have to be nice. There are times when you want to keep the whole slice of cake for yourself, but you know you should share it. There are times you want to complain or gossip or whine, yet you should still control your tongue.

LORD, have mercy.

Little-human-me isn't strong enough to make these selfless, sacrificial, God-honoring decisions moment after moment after moment. It's frustrating and infuriating and makes me feel like I'm burning out.

Hopefully you don't have to get to that point before you know what to do.

Pray. Ask God to help you, to continue to train you, to give you the guard over your mouth that you need and all the other fruit of the Spirit.

1 comment:

Noël De Vries said...

Isn't that what the modern Western church believes and teaches, though perhaps unconsciously? You can be like Jesus. Inescapable conclusion: you don't need Jesus. It's scary, to listen for this messege in Christian children's songs... Simple, didactic, well-meaning songs... For example, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, to shine for Him each day, in every way try to please him, at home, at school, at play. Like you say, a few days of trying to please him, trying to shine for him in the midst of deep, sad darkness, and you DO burn out. BUT... What if we ask HIM to shine THROUGH us? His Spirit to bear fruit IN us, as we yield and abide?
(This has been on my mind a lot, since there's always some children's CD playing here with a Sunday School messege like this...)