ARE WE THINKING AND ACTING LIKE OUR BEST SELF?
My friend DeNece took this picture of me at
work. She said the way my hair was sticking out of my face mask at the sides
made it look like I had puppy-dog ears! It made me think about disguises.
Sometimes we use masks and disguises to hide who we really are. But God sees it
all, and He loves us right where we’re at. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.”
He knows exactly why we act the way we do. He sees when we’re acting like the
true spiritual men and women that we are, and when something has pulled us away
from being our best self.
I was
getting sloppy in thoughts, words, and actions. I was letting myself stay
grumpy longer, not caring so much about what I said, and generally not acting
very godly. I was actually enjoying being somewhat rude as if I had a right to
be rude, and I didn’t even know why I felt that way.
Have you ever
found yourself in a situation where you’re not acting like yourself, and you
wonder why? I’m sure there are several
reasons why this happens, but one is that we let ourselves act badly because it
acts kind of like a defense. We don’t want to face something and so we go into
a defensive mode so that people leave us alone. This is not a healthy way to
respond, and it doesn’t reflect who we really are on the inside. On the inside
we are children of a loving God, with all the ability to follow in His ways.
So what do we do when the mask we’re
wearing is ugly, mean, angry, and snippy? We take it off and get right again.
Fortunately, it’s not that hard to
get back to what’s real. The Bible says that we can repent and change our mind.
Anybody can change their mind, but when we’ve taken Jesus as our Lord, we’ve
been given the supernatural ability to switch back to the super great person
that we really are, in an instant. It’s only a thought away.
Romans 12:2 tells us: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” It all
starts with the mind. I needed to get my thoughts back in line with God’s thoughts.
With God, it’s all about Jesus and
the Body of Christ – what we can do together with Jesus as the head—the
brains—strategizing the best for all members of the body to be blessed,
functioning in our perfect places, to the glory of our Father, God.
There’s no place for big egos in
the Body of Christ. Galatians 6:3 tells us: “For if any person thinks himself
to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he
is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats
himself.”
Even Jesus said: “I am able to do
nothing from myself [independently, of my own accord—but only as I am taught by
God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden
to decide. As the voice comes to me, so I give a decision], and my judgment is
right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult my own will
[I have no desire to do what is pleasing to myself, my own aim, my own purpose]
but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent me” (John 5:30).
That’s pretty humbling and what a
great goal. If I am only to do the will of God, then I should be glorifying Him
at every turn. I have to do that one thought and one action at a time.
I’m going to write myself a note
and put it in several places, so I’ll look at it: “Are you giving glory to
God?” I think it will help me and maybe you’ll want to do something similar.
“So then, whether you eat or
drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God”
(1 Cor. 10:31). It’s got to be one thought and one action at a time, and even
though we’ll put on different ugly masks at times, God knows we have His Holy Spirit
on the inside, and He always loves us.
Love, Carolyn
You can see some of my other writing
if you click “LOOK INSIDE” on any of my books or
booklets on Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment