It's the little things
Recently, Ken and I have been convicted of not being 100% above reproach in all areas of our lives. It wasn't that we had failed to confess a "big" sin from years back.....or one in which we were currently dealing with. It was the little things.
(And, by the way, I am just going to be entirely transparent today....just so you know. No holding back.)
As a kid, I remember hearing the phrase "little white lies." What was that, I wondered? Little meant "not big," and white meant "the opposite of black," which in my mind, meant "not nearly as bad as 'real' lies." Yet Mom and Dad began to show me that the little half-lies that I told them was just as wrong in God's eyes as other things people do to disappoint Him. God sees all sin as what it is....sin. There are no gradients, no gray areas. It's sin. Period.
I think what it truly boils down to is that most of us (myself included) like make light of things we do by what we call "justification." I have admitted outright before that I was the "queen of justification." Not a very prestigious title....why would I be proud of it? I can justify any purchase, every word spoken, every attitude held....every little white lie.
"It's just the way I am" is a phrase that enacts the smothering of motivation to better oneself. "I deserve this" has gotten so many people into lots of hot water. "He/she has given me no good reason to like him/her" is the very attitude which keeps broken relationships buried underground, tossed aside and infinitely forgotten.
God created us to be creatures who grow....who lean closer to Him each and every day. We aren't intended to move four steps forward and then fall ten steps back. And sometimes it all stems from the little things....the small areas of our life that are often overlooked, justified, or just merely accepted.
For me, I have a tendency to elaborate in order to make my stories more flowery and interesting, so as to not lose my hearer's attention. Another word for this is lying. No matter how true every other thing we say is, one false statement is still a lie, no matter how you look at it. God also recently convicted me of things I'd left undone. I thought I could just let time erase them from my life and my memory....wrong again. He gently and lovingly brought it back to mind time and time again....until at last, I surrendered to utmost obedience and fulfilled those obligations.
In my own life, these little steps of pure obedience have led to drastic changes in my life. Renewed vigor, positive financial steps forward, and even closer relationships with others. Perhaps those were some of the blockades that were holding me back from 100% peace and satisfaction.
The little things are often subtle things which we must get alone with God to find out about. We're often too busy and harried to stop and listen to the little proddings of His Spirit. We highlight the areas of our lives which are blooming and succeeding and try to sweep our weaknesses under the rug. Jesus implored for us to rejoice in our weaknesses....showcase them, let them loose. It is only then that He can heal them, erase them, bolster them with His incredible strength. There is no part of our lives or personalities which God cannot change.
Today I am feeling grouchy. I don't know why, exactly (sometimes we women, especially new moms, don't have a clue)...I just know that I'd rather be under my covers than facing the world. Yet that does not give me liberty to snap at Ken, be impatient with Gardner, or tempermental in traffic jams. I have no justification...no excuse. I am a light in the world, and with that job, I have no time off.
It's the little things.
"He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
(And, by the way, I am just going to be entirely transparent today....just so you know. No holding back.)
As a kid, I remember hearing the phrase "little white lies." What was that, I wondered? Little meant "not big," and white meant "the opposite of black," which in my mind, meant "not nearly as bad as 'real' lies." Yet Mom and Dad began to show me that the little half-lies that I told them was just as wrong in God's eyes as other things people do to disappoint Him. God sees all sin as what it is....sin. There are no gradients, no gray areas. It's sin. Period.
I think what it truly boils down to is that most of us (myself included) like make light of things we do by what we call "justification." I have admitted outright before that I was the "queen of justification." Not a very prestigious title....why would I be proud of it? I can justify any purchase, every word spoken, every attitude held....every little white lie.
"It's just the way I am" is a phrase that enacts the smothering of motivation to better oneself. "I deserve this" has gotten so many people into lots of hot water. "He/she has given me no good reason to like him/her" is the very attitude which keeps broken relationships buried underground, tossed aside and infinitely forgotten.
God created us to be creatures who grow....who lean closer to Him each and every day. We aren't intended to move four steps forward and then fall ten steps back. And sometimes it all stems from the little things....the small areas of our life that are often overlooked, justified, or just merely accepted.
For me, I have a tendency to elaborate in order to make my stories more flowery and interesting, so as to not lose my hearer's attention. Another word for this is lying. No matter how true every other thing we say is, one false statement is still a lie, no matter how you look at it. God also recently convicted me of things I'd left undone. I thought I could just let time erase them from my life and my memory....wrong again. He gently and lovingly brought it back to mind time and time again....until at last, I surrendered to utmost obedience and fulfilled those obligations.
In my own life, these little steps of pure obedience have led to drastic changes in my life. Renewed vigor, positive financial steps forward, and even closer relationships with others. Perhaps those were some of the blockades that were holding me back from 100% peace and satisfaction.
The little things are often subtle things which we must get alone with God to find out about. We're often too busy and harried to stop and listen to the little proddings of His Spirit. We highlight the areas of our lives which are blooming and succeeding and try to sweep our weaknesses under the rug. Jesus implored for us to rejoice in our weaknesses....showcase them, let them loose. It is only then that He can heal them, erase them, bolster them with His incredible strength. There is no part of our lives or personalities which God cannot change.
Today I am feeling grouchy. I don't know why, exactly (sometimes we women, especially new moms, don't have a clue)...I just know that I'd rather be under my covers than facing the world. Yet that does not give me liberty to snap at Ken, be impatient with Gardner, or tempermental in traffic jams. I have no justification...no excuse. I am a light in the world, and with that job, I have no time off.
It's the little things.
"He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
"How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times!" (Psalm 106:3)
"O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey." (Deuteronomny 6:3)
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