How to Behave: Part VII
Romans 13:11-14 (NLT)
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
A few things really struck me as I read this (and I read it in a few different versions before deciding to post this one). The first was that Paul used night and day as illustrations of good and evil. When I thought about it, I realized how many of the temptations and sinful things of life are done under the cover of darkness. Often sexual sins and behaviors take place in the dark, when we are tired our mind is weakened and less likely to fight off evil desires, darkness hides the reality of a sinful situation because it can’t be clearly seen. But when we live in the light, in the day, we can clearly see what it is we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to behave, and how we are to function. The light illuminates our paths, showing us what it is we are about to get involved in, allowing us to make more intelligent decisions, and most importantly, if we give our bodies proper rest at night, during the day our minds are sharper, prepared for thought and action, ready to evaluate the obstacles we face.
The second thing is that we are warned against quarreling and jealousy in the same way we are warned about wild parties, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and immorality. On the surface, quarreling and jealousy don’t seem nearly as harmful as the others to our spiritual state, but the reality is, they are probably the most harmful. I’m not saying that the others are good in comparison, because they definitely are not good, but why is it that jealousy and quarreling are important enough to mention? Our attitudes are what others see; our attitudes shape our personalities, our behaviors towards others, and even our actions. If we are jealous because a friend has something we want and know we will never have, we are likely to be less friendly to that person, or worse. If we are lusting after a friend’s spouse, girlfriend, etc… or even if we have genuine feelings for the person, but refuse to keep our jealousy and our attitudes in check, it will put a damper on the relationships involved, no matter how pure those relationships are. The same is true for quarreling. If we allow ourselves to be argumentative, if we always disagree… we aren’t going to be showing love to those around us, and earlier we learned that loving others is the best way to fulfill the law. Our attitudes are who we are. If our attitudes are filled with negativity and sin, we are going to be filled with negativity and sin.
Which brings me to the last point… we are to clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it look like to put on God? To be His hands, His feet, His arms? We aren’t God. We will never be God. But we are His ambassadors to a world who needs Him desperately. It is against our nature to be like Christ, yet we are to do exactly that. One person once told me that I had to “fake it until I make it”, I needed to go through the motions until it became real to me, until it was really part of me. That has always stuck with me because in a way that’s what this is telling us to do. We’re to show love to those around us when we don’t want to… we’re faking it because it’s what God wants and expects from us. Eventually, if we practice right living, it will become a way of life to us and God will be pleased that we are no longer faking it.
There’s a lot to digest tonight. I hope you find this as interesting as I do!
Hugs & Love
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4 comments:
Very well written. The Bible says we have the mind of Christ...it's part of what Jesus did for us on the cross...in renewing it with the word we can more easily folllow in Jesus' footsteps and do what He would do....and resist what He would not do...because as a new creation in Christ..it's no longer part of our DNA to desire those wicked things we once longed for. I'm not saying we never struggle...but we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Your testimony is what you believe in your heart and allow to spill out of your mouth.
Good word, Rachel.
I wrote a pretty long letter to a friend about this issue. There is a tension between being dutiful and serving because you wish to out of love. The former can make you a pharisee, if you are not careful. The latter can lead you on a wild goose chase for an emotion you can't get if you are not careful.
If I haven't already posted about this on my blog, I will soon.
Looking forward to it David!
Thanks Joanne... I appreciate it!
Hugs & Love
PS Catching up on everything. See what happens when you fall away from God? Not worth it!
Il semble que vous soyez un expert dans ce domaine, vos remarques sont tres interessantes, merci.
- Daniel
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