What
kind of friends are we to be considered if we are not known for our compassion
and listening ear? What if instead we are known for our judgment?
Today,
my mind is set on a verse. As I continue my journey of knowing Him and knowing
more about me, I am more and more realizing my own faults. How often do I
argue? How often does my arguing change anything? What kind of friend am I? Am
I a friend who supports and encourages another? Or, am I known for my
criticism?
Philippians 2:14-16 just so happens to be today's verse of
the day for Bible Gateway. It is what I needed,
when I needed it.
It says:
“Do
everything without complaining or arguing so that you will be blameless and
pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people
all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people
you shine like lights in a dark world, and you offer them the teaching that
gives life. So I can be proud of you when Christ comes again. You will show
that my work was not wasted—that I ran in the race and won.”
A few
things about the passage stick out to me. First and foremost, do not argue or
complain. Can I go a day without complaining? This verse has actually been on
my mind for the last couple of days. I have been working on on one aspect: not
complaining. On days when you feel lousy, it is actually really easy to just
let the complaining nature come out. Today, it is speaking to me on a whole new
volume: arguing.
We need
to be diligently "working out our salvation"--continuing to
move forward and live a blameless life. It is through our actions that we are
showing our own hearts. Disputing with others are
smaller, hindrances of love.. Some people waste their lives
complaining. Many of us (me included) do it. It becomes a habit. I want to take
that discontent inside of me, and turn it into being content in my own
situations before it becomes something more than simple complaints. I cannot
make the transform myself. I need God to continue working in me, as I overcome
my past. He can transform my present moments of complaining and arguing into a
thing of the past!
Complaining
and arguing with others: Only they aren't always small hindrances of love. They sometimes have big
consequences. In the New Testament, the religious group (Pharisees) were
well known for their judgmental remarks. What about us, as followers of Christ?
Are Christians known for their judgments, rather than their love? How are we
perceived by non-Christians? How are we as individuals lives our lives? Are we
known for listening and loving others? Or, are we known for our judgmental
words? Are we known for our complaining and argumentative nature? For the
non-believers and Christ-followers alike, how are we going to let the past
affect the future? We may have been complaining and argumentative yesterday,
but that does not have to be the case today..
The
second thing that strikes me is the goal. Our goal as followers of Christ: to
be blameless as Children of God. We live in a messed up world that can
definitely affect what we say and do. This world is pretty good at teaching us
to complain and argue, not that we need any help in that area. If you are
anything like me, you can pretty much handle the "complain and argue"
department all on your own. As children, we often imitate our parents in
whatever they say or do. As children of God, we need to be the imitation of our
great God. We are held to a higher standard. We, too, are judged and will be
held accountable for what we say and do. We are children of the King! Think
about that..
We need
to show ourselves..as the light of the world: through our actions. We have His
light glowing inside of us. Are we going to let our light shine? Or, are we
going to be selfish and hide our light? We have the goal before us: To run this
race and win. We need to be deliberate in what we say and do. Holding
to the Truth unswervingly, and choosing to forsake all and follow Him. It does
not matter what others say or do, we need to keep digging in His word and find
out what it really means to be a follower
of Christ. We all have sinned and fallen short of His glory! So often,
we, as followers of Christ, we get it wrong. Complaining and arguing as our way
of life is getting it wrong. It is sinful and proves how much more we need to
be digging into His Word!
When Christ comes again, we will be caught following other
"Christians"? Or, will we be caught following only Him? We will be
held accountable for our actions. The question is what kind of witness will we
have spent our lives being? Someone who is known for judgments, or someone
known for showing Christ's love? Someone known for their silence to just sit
with you, or someone known for their arguing?
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