Proverbs 16:6
If we truly love God,
our sins will be forgiven;
if we show him respect,
we will keep away from sin.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
My
mother was fairly lucid until about 36 hours before she died. In one
of our last conversations, she looked my sister and me squarely in the
eyes and said, “We are a strange species.” I later learned from my
niece, Jasmine, that Mother peppered this phrase all throughout a
journal she kept for her grand-daughter for the last 23 years. And
indeed, we are a strange species. As I read this passage from
Proverbs, I thought of things that have happened even in this last week
and reminded myself that our actions do not always line up with our
talk…particularly as supposed Christian disciples.
I have said
time and again that people are watching. They notice when we demonstrate
great faith and hope in Jesus…and when we belie His teachings. The
nicest person in the world can say and do some pretty nasty things in
any given moment…or “act a fool” at some point. This doesn’t make any
of us particularly bad people…but depending on who observes these sins
(and yes, these are sins, because they represent disrespect and
disobedience toward Jesus and His teachings) we may do tremendous harm
to God’s Kingdom – and our effectiveness as His witness.
We
cannot judge others. We cannot treat them with
disdain…discriminate…criticize unkindly and unconstructively…or
humiliate. We have to be on our best behavior and continually check our
words and actions. There are people who will get on our last nerve…and
God calls us to love them anyway - even those who “are a strange
species.”
If we truly love God, we must obey Him. We have to
follow the teachings of Jesus and love others – ALL others. We have to
respect others and treat them fairly, because this demonstrates our
respect and reverence for the God we love and worship. We must stay
awake and alert for opportunities to sin - and avoid them at all cost.
Mother was right…we are
a strange species…ALL of us – not just the other guy! What we think,
say and do matters – to others AND to God. If we want Him to forgive
us, we must do what can be the hard work of following all of His
commands and demonstrating resolve, reverence, respect, and a healthy
dose of restraint!
Spend some time in prayer today and ask God to
show you where there are opportunities to demonstrate respect and
reverence…and where you need to operate in reservation and
self-discipline. He will give you the strength and courage you need to
do both. We are a strange species…and people are watching one another. When they look at you…what – and WHO – do they see?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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