- Mood: Loving the Lord My God
Monday. A new day, a new week, a new month; the last of an ending year.
The Greatest Commandment
I'm starting this post with the Daily Bible Verse. Right out of the box I'm hitting you with what's on my mind today:
" 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." ' "
Mark 12:29
This was one of the verses that our pastor used in the teaching yesterday at church. It also happens to be one of my favorite verses. I think it's one of my favorite because of the awesome simplicity inherent in the words. Jesus is saying, "Put God before EVERYTHING else and give Him EVERYTHING you have to give from EVERY cell of your being."
What does this mean? It means every decision you make should be made to glorify God. It means every statement you make should made to glorify God. It means every thought you think should be made to glorify God. It means you should love God (and everyone else, which is also addressed in the next Bible verse) with EVERYTHING you have.
Does this mean only on Sunday? Does it mean only when things are going your way? Does this mean only to people who are good? People who are like you? People who are respected?
NO! NO! NO!
This means exactly what Jesus said it meant: Love the Lord your God with ALL your HEART and with ALL your SOUL and with ALL your MIND and with ALL your STRENGTH. It means living your life in the manner in which God directed. It means living your life in the manner that Jesus provided an example for, and that the prophets before him and the Apostles and disciples after him wrote about.
Real World Examples
Let's flesh this out. Here's what it means to me:
Let's say it's Monday evening. I am tired. My wife needs me to pick stuff up from the store. She is irritated on the phone because the kids have been driving her nuts and I know when I get home I'm going to take the brunt of her frustration, and understandably so. My clients have been particularly vocal today about their problems and have given me last minute projects with hardly any time to complete. I have been working miracles keeping the coffers full enough to cover expenses for the business and the home, and I'm physically and mentally toast.
I have a choice to make here. I can let the next little thing send me over the edge and I can act out negatively. I can have an angry outburst against my wife and I can take my frustrations out on her. I can get home and make a drink and let the alcohol smooth over my problems. I can get on the computer and just surf, wasting time, probably look at things that are sinful, all to avoid reality. I can go home and ignore my wife and my kids by diving straight into a movie, a book, or go for a walk.
Of all of these, which one finds me loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength?
None of them. So here's what I believe I should do:
God wants me to honor Him first, and take care of my commitments second. So in order to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength in this situation, I would speak respectfully and lovingly to my wife, communicate to her that I love her and that I will help her with the things she needs, and that I will do my best to understand her. I will stop at the store and pick up the things she needs and I will do it positively to the best of my ability.
I will not take my frustrations out on anyone I encounter on the road in my car or in the aisle at the store. I will pay for my groceries with a smile and make sure the cashier knows that I value her as a person and do not consider her a menial servant, most likely by sincerely asking her how she (or he) is doing, making small talk, and thanking them from the heart.
I will get home, hug my children and my wife with feeling, and give myself to them wholeheartedly. We will have dinner and begin doing so by thanking God profusely for the ability we have to put food on the table, to meet as a family, and to enjoy the meal at a table under a roof.
You're thinking at this point, "Yeah, right." But I counter to you with this: Look at the title of this post. It states: Really Living the Life of a Believer. That means LOVING THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND SOUL AND MIND AND STRENGTH.
Remember what the main page of this site talks about? I stated my belief that walking with Christ is the most rewarding experience you can ever have. But I also said what else?
That it's not easy. Reader...let that soak in. It's not easy. But anything worth having is not easy to gain.
Read carefully here:
And what do you gain by living in Christ, accepting that He is your Savior, asking for forgiveness of your sins, and believing and trusting in the One God of Gods who gave you life?
Just eternity in a Heaven with shades of never-ending happiness and hues of glorious wonder that your worldly mind cannot begin to comprehend.
Now read my suggestion on what I should do in the above situation once more. That would be tough, wouldn't it? But it would be what GOD WANTED AND JESUS TOLD US TO DO AS STATED IN THE BIBLE! I shiver to think that I could classify doing what I have stated above as too tough for me to do.
What if Jesus had decided that carrying that cross and getting nailed to it was too tough for him to do? Who would have provided the forgiveness for your sins? (See Friday's entry for a discussion on sin).
Let's think of some more scenarios.
Let's Talk About Sex
A teenager getting propositioned for sex for the first or a consecutive time. Or how about an ADULT (yeah, adults are not exempt from doing the right thing!) getting propositioned for sex? What is the right thing to do? If you're not married, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE SEX WITH THAT PERSON! This is the one I have the most problems with. So many people think that they can just have sex with anyone they want as long as they are both consenting adults (sometimes even not) and no one gets hurt by it. WRONG!
Before I go into this, let me state something and make it clear: I am a sexual sinner. I have sinned in regards to sex. I have repented and have changed my ways to avoid sexual sins in the future. So I am not pointing fingers here. I am merely stating what I believe is obvious and voicing my opinion about it.
The Word of God CLEARLY states that sex is meant ONLY for married persons. If you're not married, it's a sin. There's no arguing that.
Sex. Outside. Of. Marriage. Is. A. Sin.
And people who have sex outside of marriage are forced to deal with all the problems it creates and somehow never manage to figure out that the pleasure is NEVER worth the pain. Sooner or later, no matter how cool or free you think you are, you will suffer pain for having so much sinful sex without worrying about the consequences. It never fails. Just ask one promiscuous man or woman if the sex is really that good and fulfilling and sooner or later,they will be honest and tell you that it's not. I know because I had that conversation with more than one person who had partners in the double and/or triple digits. I've done some research on this. (This will be a topic of a single blog entry soon).
What makes me laugh, but really makes me sad, is that these people actually have the attitude that people who don't have lots of sex like this are missing out on something. Wrong. In fact, married couples have been studied and the results show that married persons get more fulfillment and satisfaction from sex with their spouse than single people do. Look it up. And of course the Bible, the ultimate authority on this, states that clearly is the truth. Sex is just sooooo good that we destroy our lives to have it out of wedlock. "But it's too hard to go without it!" both men and women say.
Again, Reader, what if Jesus had said it was too hard to lead a sinless life? Too hard to carry that cross? Too hard to be nailed to it? Think, Reader. Think.
But the worst part is that sex is so casual these days. In fact, society seems hell bent for leather on making casual sex an accepted part of life. I guess all the guilty people want to be accepted. It won't work. Read the Bible. And let me make something clear: I am a former sexual sinner. I have sinned in regards to sex. But I have repented and have changed my ways to avoid sexual sins in the future. So I am not pointing fingers here. I am merely stating what I believe is obvious and voicing my opinion about it. (Again, I'm going to make this the subject of many blog entries because people just don't take it seriously.)
Work Situations and Everyday Life
Other examples? Someone offering you money to look the other way in your official capacity. Waking up late and knowing you're not going to make it to work on time and debating calling in sick so that you don't get written up for being late again. Telling your spouse or significant other a little white lie (or a really big lie) concerning your job. Keeping the extra change that the cashier gave you by mistake. Knowing that your stockbroker did some dishonest stuff to help both she and you make more money and not calling her out on it. Watching your co-worker steal from the company and not doing anything about it.
You have the opportunity to gossip. You have the opportunity to look at porn. You have the opportunity to skip out on a meeting that you're supposed to be in. You have the opportunity to lay in bed a little longer knowing that your kids are waiting for you to make their breakfast. You purposely avoid looking up in the hall so that you can avoid talking to that girl who keeps trying to make friends with you because she's annoying.
The Possibilities Are Endless
The list can go on and on and you know there is something within the last seven days, seven hours, or seven minutes that you did or had a choice to make and you made the decision for YOURSELF. Is that loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? No! Making a decision for yourself over God is a DIRECT VIOLATION of the greatest commandment!
I Pose to You and Myself a Challenge
So I challenge you and I challenge myself DIRECTLY: Today, see just how many times you have a choice to make, no matter how big or small, that either involves you loving GOD or YOURSELF with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Which will you choose when it really comes down to it? God wants for you to choose love for Him and your neighbor first, and yourself last. Can you do that in every situation life throws at you? Because in the end, as Jesus said to his disciples, "For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest." Read it again, and think about it.
Do you really live your life like a believer? From the bottom of my heart, I hope we all do.
Until tomorrow.
Come Believe...
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