Christian Living
Today, Monday marks the beginning of a new work week for most people. Work is one thing that exposes us to different kinds of people. An exposure that requires that we interact and build relationships with people from different walks of life. So work is not just about earning a living and self actualization, but also about developing virtue, identifying personal values and maintaining same. And maybe more importantly for a Christian, the work environment presents us with an opportunity to become known for Godly values as we communicate same to others those us.
Sometimes, work environment exposes us to very difficult people. People who are ignorant yet arrogant, people who are unstable yet controlling, people who appear friendly but are as cunning as snakes, people who refute every fresh idea at meetings but who seldom propose one, and probably the most troubling for me are people who profess godliness but deny it’s power to transform them.
Question: how do we deal with these kinds of people? How do we communicate exemplary Christian virtues and values to them? How do we reach, engage and help them become better?
Be More!
Truth is; developing, maintaining and being known for certain Christian values takes work. It requires us to do more; to progressively add more to our belief and faith walk; to work towards the perfection of our love walk.
In Christ Jesus we are identifiable with the Father; we share in His divine nature. And because of this relationship, God bestowed on us exceedingly great and precious promises, thereby separating us from the corruption and covetousness that exists in the world. We are different and we are to be separate.
As we enjoy these precious promises, first Peter 1:5-9 admonishes us to diligently add virtues to our faith……
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:5-8 KJV
Aim continually to layer one virtue upon the other. Add knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness and love to faith. Be More!
1 Peter 1:10 says that if we consistently lack the virtues listed above by a deliberate refusal to work towards attaining them, we are not identifying with our new nature neither are we reflecting our new identity in Christ…..
“For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.” 2 Peter 1:9 AMPC
We can be more. We can put lust, greed, strife, hatred, and everything evil which doesn’t line up with our identity in Christ under control. We can choose to by wisdom observe more and speak less, to choose to ignore and disregard inflammatory and annoying remarks, we can choose peace and calmness of spirit over claiming to be right or smart. We can be more.
It takes personal willingness, desire, commitment and a yielding to the Holy Spirit to be more. It takes a deliberate decision to put the flesh under and to let the Spirit lead. Sometimes we miss it, but we do not give up, we pick ourselves up and try again.
And we become more and more like Jesus as we deliberately, intentionally, purposefully and progressively layer on Godly virtues to our foundation of faith.
“And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Galatians 5: 24 NKJV
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Blessings & Love Always!
