Oh, that is a much better outcome!
People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges their reason for doing it. (Proverbs 16:2)
"Either I will find a way, or I will make one." (Philip Sidney) We all have those moments when we just "feel" like doing something is the right thing to do, so we just go ahead with our plans. There are even times when we kind of suspect there might be a little "issue" with what we are doing, but then we go ahead anyway. Whenever we just move without fully thinking it through, or getting God's perspective on the matter, we are usually pretty disappointed with the results! There are times when we have duped ourselves into believing our actions are fully "justified" by the actions of another. It is like we are saying, "Well, he did this, so I did that" - thinking our actions are "made all right" because of the actions of another. If they don't think about the outcome of their actions that is one thing, but we have the responsibility to think about how our actions exemplify the heart of Jesus, so we may not want to respond without thinking things through!
Whatever we do may not always be "right" - we have to look at the heart behind the actions. The heart behind our actions is what God is after, not just that the actions are "right". We can produce all kinds of "right" actions and still have a wrong "heart" behind them. I can pay my taxes, but bad mouth my government and criticize how those funds are spent. I can wave at my neighbors in a kindly fashion each morning, all the while cursing them under my breath for having a barking dog at night. I can say I love someone, but but be holding onto all manner of bitterness toward them for something they may not even realize they have done. You see, the action can be "right" while the heart behind it is not as "honorable" or "right".
God looks at the "reason" behind the action - the "heart" of the matter. All action stems from thought - thought being influenced by our "heart" as scripture defines "heart" as the seat of our emotions. Try as we might to "think" one way while our emotions are tied up in knots in the completely opposite direction will not make them magically "align". What God wants to do is help us live "above" our emotions - not dependent upon them. We would probably be surprised to find out just how many of our actions throughout the day are totally based on some emotion we are feeling at the moment. Your actions don't always agree with your emotions, but God is after the emotion, not just the action.
We have a tendency to focus on what we "feel" is important in our lives - God wants us to focus more on what he has declared to be valuable to him. We have a desire to put this right action together with that right action and see right results as the outcome. God wants us to put the right heart behind the actions, then watch him produce the outcome! Just sayin!
"Either I will find a way, or I will make one." (Philip Sidney) We all have those moments when we just "feel" like doing something is the right thing to do, so we just go ahead with our plans. There are even times when we kind of suspect there might be a little "issue" with what we are doing, but then we go ahead anyway. Whenever we just move without fully thinking it through, or getting God's perspective on the matter, we are usually pretty disappointed with the results! There are times when we have duped ourselves into believing our actions are fully "justified" by the actions of another. It is like we are saying, "Well, he did this, so I did that" - thinking our actions are "made all right" because of the actions of another. If they don't think about the outcome of their actions that is one thing, but we have the responsibility to think about how our actions exemplify the heart of Jesus, so we may not want to respond without thinking things through!
Whatever we do may not always be "right" - we have to look at the heart behind the actions. The heart behind our actions is what God is after, not just that the actions are "right". We can produce all kinds of "right" actions and still have a wrong "heart" behind them. I can pay my taxes, but bad mouth my government and criticize how those funds are spent. I can wave at my neighbors in a kindly fashion each morning, all the while cursing them under my breath for having a barking dog at night. I can say I love someone, but but be holding onto all manner of bitterness toward them for something they may not even realize they have done. You see, the action can be "right" while the heart behind it is not as "honorable" or "right".
God looks at the "reason" behind the action - the "heart" of the matter. All action stems from thought - thought being influenced by our "heart" as scripture defines "heart" as the seat of our emotions. Try as we might to "think" one way while our emotions are tied up in knots in the completely opposite direction will not make them magically "align". What God wants to do is help us live "above" our emotions - not dependent upon them. We would probably be surprised to find out just how many of our actions throughout the day are totally based on some emotion we are feeling at the moment. Your actions don't always agree with your emotions, but God is after the emotion, not just the action.
We have a tendency to focus on what we "feel" is important in our lives - God wants us to focus more on what he has declared to be valuable to him. We have a desire to put this right action together with that right action and see right results as the outcome. God wants us to put the right heart behind the actions, then watch him produce the outcome! Just sayin!
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