Can We Be Blameless?
As long as I could remember, I have always been one of those who just did what I needed to, to get by. It seemed easy for me to do well in school and work without putting forth much effort, studying hard, or paying attention to details.
If I could get a 'B' in class I was happy with that. Even a 'C' would suffice for me, it was still average. by the way.
I got by more on my stature, as I was always taller than everyone else, and stood out, and did what I could to please my teachers in school and bosses at work. That got me recognition and noticed. I think it helped my grades and my status at work as well.
In the work place, I always strove to be competitive so I could do things faster and get more done than the others, So I was usually one of the top performers, if not 'the' top performer. That is what mattered to me and I thrived on it.
I was always good in sports and excelled and improved the most, as I wanted to please my coaches, I was pretty good at doing that as well. I was one of those that was always picked first or at least second or third when teams were being made up on the play ground or in the neighborhood, or in after work sport teams. I was used to being noticed, favored, and recognized for my abilities.
It was not so much that I wanted to do good for the sake of quality or excellence, I just wanted to be better than others out of pride and selfishness. I loved the attention and it stroked my ego.
Later in life as I got older and worked on the job alone, with no one to compete with, or no one watching, this type of work ethic caught up with me. I was now in the spot light with no one else to compare to, and I began to see what I was really made of. My motives were being tested and exposed. God began to work on me and show me what truly mattered, what counted, and what He wanted.
It took years of failures, disappointment, allot of pain, and torment, for me to finally hear God. I needed to realize that what mattered was Why I was doing things and Who I was doing them for.
When I understood that, I began to see everything I did down to the smallest insignificant detail mattered. I needed to pay attention to every minute detail. To make sure I did everything to the best of my ability and do it well. To do things completely to the end and not just do what was necessary to get by and take home a pay check. I had a higher boss who was watching and it was His honor I was affecting in everything I did, Not just my own.
It was His glory and His name I was either promoting or bringing reproach to, not mine. And what I did and how I behaved affected not only His name, but the reputation of those I worked for. I needed to learn to put others reputation before my own.
Sometimes God will speak to us very quietly, distinctly, and consistently with just a very simple phrase to try to get our attention. He uses repetition to reveal to use what we need to do or what we need to work on. This is usually how God spoke to me.
If you do not listen and try to ignore, or pretend to act dumb, like you do not understand, He will let you go on and dig your own grave. He will stop talking to you. He leaves us alone to let us see how easily we mess up and suffer from our own stubbornness.
The thing I would hear for awhile every morning as I headed off to work is "...fulfill all righteousness...". It was not an audible voice, but a very distinct and clear inner voice that would just pop into my mind out of nowhere, regardless of what I was doing or thinking.
At first I thought, what? What does that mean? What are you talking about Lord? I do not understand.
But it was only a few days latter I began to understand and knew what He was talking about. When I did not like what I understood and did not want to do what He wanted me to do, because I was too lazy, and it would take extra effort on my part, I played the 'ignorance' card.
You know? The card we like to play when we want to pretend we do not know or understand something because we know if we acknowledged it, it was going to cost us. It was going to require us to go an extra mile and take pains to do a little more and make a greater effort. We are so lazy aren't we?
Well, there were things I needed to do in my work place that I was not doing. I was taking short cuts on things, that to me, did not matter, and no one would even know; except me and you know who. Yep...my real boss; God.
He cared. He knew. He knows the consequences of our actions when we don't and He loves us and wants the best for us. And if we fail and something goes wrong, we bare His name and if reflects on Him. People know we are Christians. Whose reputation is affected when we mess up? It is not just our own!
After some time, trying to act ignorant and after many painful occurrences and some loving reminders from God's messengers, I finally woke up. I took notice and changed my tune.
God's messengers? Yes, God does still use our local church ministers to speak to His people and certain individuals. In fact, that is exactly God's plan and blueprint for everything we are discussing, Using His church to exhort, encourage, build, and perfect. But that is another story.
In one day, God drove home His message to me, in two messages, from two different people, in two different services, at two different churches, in the same day.
It was actually kind of funny. But, it was also very sobering. It was clear evidence that the Holy Spirit is definitely in control of the church and there is divine continuity and coherence among the millions of churches and bodies around the world like a global symphony. The Holy Spirit being the inspiration of the words and music as Jesus orchestrates the body of Christ.
The two messages I heard I will cover in the second part of this story of the Spirit of Excellence and being blameless.
Thanks for coming along and sharing in my story. Please, let me hear from you and share your experiences or insights on this topic.
God Bless.