Purpose

Collection Attempt


I’m tempted to think I owe myself a lot. 

In my mind, I will list all the things that I forgo and use that to justify something that I want to do.

For me, a lot of times this internal dialogue happens when I’m about to make a purchase – especially one that I know other people may question. I will mentally outline all the other little luxuries that I deny myself and thereby support my decision to spend my money all the while reminding myself of how hard I worked for that cash. It can get to the place where not only can I justify the purchase, but I can convince myself that I deserve it. After all, as I remind myself, I’ve sacrificed so much.

iStockphoto.com/miteman

Scripture, however, makes it clear that while I do owe a debt, it is not to my own desires.  Romans 8:12 states this emphatically. We think we owe ourselves a lot, when in reality, we owe God a debt that we can never repay. Whatever personal sacrifice we have made, is nothing compared to the sacrifice of His Son who left Heaven in order to die a gruesome death, and then conquered death by rising in three days. Through this sacrifice He has graciously paid the debt of our sin if we repent and place our faith in Him. However, this is not so that we can go back to living for ourselves. Instead, it is His desire that we live for Him.

This means that when I make a purchase the question is not whether I deserve it. When I want to do something, it is not about all the other things that I have given up. The only issue at stake is whether it will bring glory to God. The question is whether I am walking according to His Spirit or according to my own inclinations. If it’s the latter, than the decision will never be the correct one because it’s based on a skewed perspective. My focus needs to be on His desires, not my own.

It can be hard to not tally up what we think we’re owed and try to collect. However, God has already given us far more than we can ever deserve. Instead of trying to “repay” ourselves, we should invest our lives in living for Him. 

 

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Hope

Standard Operating Procedures

iStockphoto.com/DOConnell

Every business has their standard operating procedures – a manual (or manuals) of how things are supposed to work. Of course, things don’t always work like they are supposed to. Leadership is primarily about dealing with the unexpected, navigating through both the small and large crises. The standard operating procedures are great if everything stayed the same, but things rarely do.

God, however, has promised to always stay the same, and as Romans 3:3-4a reminds us we can trust in His faithfulness. Even when those who call themselves Christians aren’t faithful, we can have confidence that we serve a God who is. The verses state:

“What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar,”

In other words, God’s standard operating procedure is to be faithful. Unlike  an organization, because He never changes, He always acts in keeping with that principle.  Other Christians may disappoint us, may seem untrustworthy, and may fail, but God never will. He will always be true; He will always be worthy of our trust.

This is an important reminder. So often in life when the unexpected happens we are tempted to look to others for their insight and perspective. However, the perspective of humans change. God’s perspective, as delineated in His Word, remains constant. Before we turn to others, before we look to the fickle opinions of man, we need to look at what God says about the matter. We also need to filter the words of others through His perspective – trusting that the God Who is always faithful is infinitely more reliable than people who sometimes fail. This doesn’t mean that we try to always “go it alone” – the Body of Christ is a wonderful gift that God has given us to help us faithfully journey through this life. But it does mean that I rely on God more than I rely on anybody else. It means that His eternal opinion always trumps the temporary opinion of man. It means that the One who is constantly faithful can be trusted even if no one else can.

And if someone turns to me in their moment of crisis, I need to point them to the One Who’s standard operating procedures are to be trustworthy, faithful and true. His Word, and not mine, will prove reliable in the end. 

(The title of this post was inspired by a comment from someone at church. Unfortunately, I did not note the name of the person who made the comment. If it was you, my apologies, and thank you.)



 

	


	

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