Just do it

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Colossians 4:5-6
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

As you can see, I’ve been reading Colossians today. And boy, was in desperate need of that.

I’ve been struggling lately, and though I have found myself looking all around and pointing the finger at anyone I can to excuse my difficulties, I have not done so well when looking in the mirror.

Yes, I have been wronged by people. Yes, there are frustrating situations around me over which I have little to no control. Yes, other people sin constantly.

But that does not make it ok for me to sin, too.

And yes, I am human. Yes, I will fail repeatedly. Yes, perfection is a goal which I can never reach on my own, and even with Jesus’ help I’ll still never reach this side of heaven.

But that STILL does not make it ok for me to sin – and excuse it and feel justified in it.

And as I tell my kids on an almost daily basis, “It’s doesn’t matter what he did to you. You are not responsible for his actions. You are only responsible for your own actions.”

One other Bible verse has been ringing in my head for a couple of weeks now. And it’s one I’m sure we all struggle with from time to time.

Luke 6:41-43 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

In short, I’m blindly stumbling around trying to find and remove specks form everyone’s eyes but my own – but I can’t see past the two-by-four sticking in my own eye to do the job properly.

So no more feeling pouty because my Man isn’t making me feel special enough. It’s time I just pour myself into being the very best wife that I can be to him, regardless of his efforts towards me.

No more lecturing my children on serving one another and working with a happy heart. It’s time to just serve them and work with my own happy heart and smiling face. I’m sure they’ll learn quicker by example than they will by my words.

No more looking down my nose at other parents for their lack of discipline with their children or their lack of wisdom in choosing the right path in how to school their family. It’s time to just look to the Lord and follow His lead in how He wants me to raise and teach my own children.

No more getting frustrated over my husband’s lukewarm approach to faith. He’s undecided, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I can however lose him to Christ forever if I continue to mope around when things don’t go my way. Why would anyone want to be part of a faith and belief system that turns out grumpy, unhappy folks who are always pestering and complaining, and pointing out all that everyone else does wrong? I know that was something that turned me off of Christianity before I became a believer. So it’s just time to live out the faith. All I can do is live with the joy of the Lord pouring out of me in every way possible.

It’s time to do as James 1:22 teaches and, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

And the thing is, I KNOW THIS STUFF. I do. Really. And I’ll tell anyone else I encounter all about it. But somehow I’ve missed the point for a while. I thought I was really living out my faith. And in many areas, I really am. But in many areas, I have been falling far short of the goal.

So it’s time to redouble my efforts to make a designated quiet time EVERY DAY to spend in the Word and with the Lord, seeking out His will for me in my life and in my actions. And then, once I’ve read His Word, I just need to do it.