Monday, July 25, 2011

People Like That


I’m pretty sure we’re living in the last days. There’s a pretty accurate description of our society in this passage. It’s not pretty, but it describes the culture I encounter on TV, in movies and music, and even in my workplace. So how can I stay away from people like that?

It might be easier to stay away from them if I’m not one of them. If I’m careful to walk in God’s ways, they probably won’t want to be around me and I probably won’t want to hang around with them, unless God’s put them in my way to share His love with them (but that’s another post). So I’ll look at this list of behaviors and attitudes as a check on my own.

Money’s a cool thing and I can think of dozens of ways to spend it on myself. But I am a steward of all God has given me and I’ll do a better job if I remember it belongs to Him.

After 37 years of marriage, raising a family, a satisfying career and a masters degree, among other things, I sometimes find things to boast about. But I want to say with Paul, “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 6:14

There’s absolutely no excuse for ingratitude. I should thank God daily for all His blessings, starting with my salvation in Christ and ending with the breath I’m taking right now.

I’ve had some experience with learning to forgive, so I want to be quick to pray for the people who hurt me. That’s the best way to learn to love them. And when I pray for them, I need to ask the Holy Spirit to control my tongue and keep me from talking about them to others.

As for the rest of the list, the solution is to love God more than anything else. It always comes down to the choice between loving God and loving myself.

Once again, I choose to love God more.

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