Be wiser than your former self

We have perhaps one or two truly close friendships in the course of our lifetime, those marked by true intimate knowledge of each other and a depth of commitment which spans all the hurdles of how silly we can act on occasion.  These relationships matter so much to us - we work to preserve them, defend them, and even bolster them whenever things are a little shaky. Try hard to do right and you will win friends - scriptural instruction - not scriptural "advice".  The difference between the two - one is just an opinion which we can take or leave; the other is a promise based on truth. Some of us don't always "do right", though. In the realm of our "best friends", there is some amount of grace which just keeps us together and might even bind us closer together when we don't always "hit the mark" when it comes to "trying to do right". Do right; Live right; and Act wisely - three truths we need to explore if we are to maintain those very special relationships God has given us on this earth.

Try hard to do right, and you will win friends; go looking for trouble, and you will find it. Live right, and you will eat from the life-giving tree. And if you act wisely, others will follow. (Proverbs 11:27, 30)

Do right - we certainly don't need instruction or reminding to "do wrong"! We find our way into the territory of "wrong" much easier than we find our way into the territory of "right"! We were born pretty egocentric and in being so egocentric from birth, we find the world rotating around us for a good period of time. What parents have a hard time with as we are getting a little older is this idea of helping us to see there are others in our world impacted by our actions!  When we won't share, someone is without a toy or piece of the cake. When we refuse to let someone go, they cannot get on with their other tasks which need to be completed. We maintain the "hold" on being the center of our world as long as others will allow it. When someone begins to "push that envelope" and they show us we are definitely NOT the center of attention we think we should be, we get our feelings all in a wad. The world around us needs to be acknowledged, the feelings of others require respect, and the moments of their lives matter as much as ours.  We are reminded to let go of "self" and seek out the opportunities to "make another feel special". Doing is the first step toward developing a pattern some call "living".

Live right - unlike "doing" right, living right means we actually find a path which is consistently focused on the right things. We begin to develop patterns of behavior which are marked with less and less self-centered actions. The "doing" becomes a habit - we find ourselves consistently "doing" - not having to "think it through" all the time because it comes more naturally to us now. With every "new habit" there is this starting point we might label as "doing" right. Add up all the "doing" and eventually you find yourself forming the new habit. In time, you don't even think about what it is you are doing because it comes as "second-nature" to you. It is "second-nature" to us, though! Our "primary-nature" is egocentric. It takes practiced effort to break that mold! This effort will eventually help us develop the habits which become "second-nature" to us and produce a consistency of behaviors which support "other-focused" activities. We find we want to include others in our lives - not because of what we "get out of it", but equally as much by what we can "give back" into those relationships.  Living right implies we make consistent choices which benefit not only self, but others, as well.

Act wisely - the choices we make behind the scenes matter because eventually they reveal themselves for all to see, no matter how well we think we have them covered up! Action comes from thought - we actually have some basis to all we do and how we live because we have been thinking about it for some time! If our actions are a little foolish, it is likely we are still a little too egocentric in our focus. We don't see others, nor do we see Christ right there in front of us as we make those unwise choices. If our actions are gravitating toward wiser ones, we might not fully understand how much those matter, but each wise action leads to the possibility we will act that way again - leading to us letting go of some of our egocentric "doing". Fools are marked by being all over the board in their commitments and even by being a little too egocentric (despite warnings to be otherwise). The wise are marked by the stability and sensibility of their actions - those which are "other-focused", not "self-focused". Wise people see themselves through the mirror of the truth and what is reflected back to them is used to help them lay down the actions which really are not reflecting back Christ in them! Just sayin!

Am I consistent enough?

 Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust. (2 Peter 1:4)

Sometimes we aren't sure we are doing everything that will make a difference, so that we are living in such a way that our lives truly please God. We want to live consistently in a manner that allows God to be seen through us to a hurting and searching world, but we aren't sure we are 'consistent enough'. Let me assure you of this - if you are walking with Jesus in a genuine manner - heart, mind, will and soul committed to serving him - you are 'consistent enough'. We don't always hit the mark we are aiming at, but we are taking steps in the right direction (at least generally). We aren't perfect, but God never came to redeem perfect people - he knows we will grow closer as we seek him, but we aren't as close today as we will be down the road. When we pursue him, knowing we are drawn in by his love and grace, we are being 'consistent enough'.

Pleasing God doesn't require our perfection - it requires pursuit of the right stuff, in the right time, with a right heart. The pursuit is the important part. Are you pursuing God through daily habits that will shape your heart in a manner that pleases God? That is the most important question we can address today. The habits we develop in the pursuit of God's plan for our lives are what will change our hearts. We are given an invitation to enter into the pursuit. If we have accepted the invitation, we are likely called into some new habits such as reading God's Word, prayer, and receiving good teaching through God's messages delivered by faithful pastors and teachers.

The invitation is accepted, and the pursuit begins. Sometimes we think we need to pursue in some super-spiritual way, but God isn't after our 'religious habits'. He wants us to read his Word because we want to learn more from him. He hopes our prayers will be an open expression of our heart and mind, so he can work with us about our thought patterns. He wants to change the way we see ourselves, so he uses his Word and simple truths he brings to mind when we pray to show us how he sees us. When we take in good teaching, our hearts are being transformed - especially when we take that teaching to heart and allow God to bring out more of his grace and love from within us.

The habits of 'consistency' are developed in these times together with Jesus. The more we listen, the more we will develop consistently wise choices. The more we yield our heart to him, allowing him to show us where our heart is weighing us down, we will be called upon to let go of the weights. Today we will not be as close to God as we have the potential of being tomorrow. When we take the small and consistent steps of good spiritual habits, we will be drawn closer and that freshness of intimacy with him will help us take the next steps he seeks from us. The invitation is there - take the one small step he seeks today - then keep taking that step. Before long, he will show us the next step and we will take it. Do you know what is happening when we do? We are developing 'spiritual habits' that actually are helping us develop consistency in our relationship with Jesus. So, keep stepping! Just sayin!

Discipline - NOT!!!

Are you a who has a tendency to squander what you have been given?  We squander a whole lot of things - our finances, our time, our health.  One who squanders either uses something so extravagantly, or wastefully, that it is gone before they actually realize the loss.  Whenever we do this, we have a tendency to look at the emptiness left behind and wish we had made more of what we had.  It is kind of like looking into the bottom of an empty bag of M&Ms!!!!

Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. (Proverbs 8:33 The Message)

Our writer directs us to living in such as way so as not to squander what we have been given - precious life.  How do we do this?  We live a life of discipline and we learn to make wise decisions.  Now, don't get me wrong - discipline is hard stuff!  And...constantly making decisions which are firmly grounded and beneficial for not only us, but those we affect through our actions, is just as difficult!  So, how are we to get to this point?

First of all, let's focus on this idea of living a disciplined life.  By the very use of this word, many are turned off - simply because it is too hard.  Yet, when we explore the meaning of what it is to have "discipline" in life, we might just begin to see this a little differently.  Discipline is a regimen which develops a skill over time!  You start with what you have and then you build upon it.  So, I walk three blocks the first time I choose to get off the couch and actually do the dreaded "exercise" routine.  By the next week, I find myself up to six blocks.  How?  I allowed my "regimen" to be developed!  

A regimen is simply a systematic approach to the task at hand.  The regimen builds over time.  The first time we try to get into the Word with any consistency, we might find ourselves a little intimidated by the things we find within the covers of these sixty-six books.  Yet, in time...because there is sufficient exposure and consistent attempts, the words on the page begin to actually make sense.  We see patterns, things which connect to what we are going through right now, etc.  

Too many times we associate "discipline" to the idea of punishment.  If we shift our thinking to accept it as a way of building one skill upon another, we might just embrace it a little better.  In fact, it is kind of like laying a row of bricks.  The first row is the most important.  It gives the foundation for the rest of the wall to be built upon!  If the row is haphazard and a little less than straight, the wall is none too stable and a little odd appearing!  So, when we set out to live disciplined lives, the first steps we take make all the difference.  

We need to take greater care when starting as our start determines our end.  When I ran track in school, the coach always had to slow me down a little.  I just shot off the block and ran like my pants were on fire!  But...I did not have the stamina to keep up the pace for the entire race.  She focused on getting me to start slow...then build up to increasing the pace.  There is something to be said of this when considering building any new routine or regimen in our lives.  We start slow . . . building up to our full potential as we gain the stamina and focus to carry on!

So, if we are to become less inclined to squander (fritter away) our lives, we need to establish some patterns (regimens) which lay a solid foundation upon which we will build a "solid wall".  We ALL face these same challenges!  You don't walk this journey alone!  We ALL have a tendency to squander life!  Want proof?  Ask anyone over the age of fifty to look back and tell you just where they might change things if they could do it all over again!  You will rarely find someone who would say, "I did it all well!"  (At least, not a very honest person!)

Wisdom is an off-shoot of living disciplined lives.  We learn to make the best decisions when we allow the skills to develop which only come through consciously choosing to take the steps to allow their development!   Not sure what God may be speaking to you about today - but if you have been squandering, now is the time to begin to develop a regimen which will change the course of your life!  Just sayin!