A Poor Example

Every day since the beginning of this year, I have made it a practice to wake up an hour earlier than necessary and spend time in prayer and in reading my Bible. It includes daily devotions, which I consider a key to applying simple truths of God's word to my life. Since I began doing this, I have found that it has a calming effect on my day. When I begin each day by having uninterrupted time with the Lord, it better prepares me for what awaits me in the world. Remember that word "uninterrupted"; it comes into play later.

"Poor Examples" was the title of this morning's Daily Bread devotion. It told of how the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus' time, who were in charge of instructing others in God's ways, were complete hypocrites. They were quick to point out the shortcomings of others, quick to preach to others, and quick to take credit for their own good deeds. However, in practice (that is, in matters of the heart before God), they were the lowest of the low. They knew nothing about pleasing God with their lives, because to them, it was all about self-edification by putting on a good show before other men. In short, they were poor examples of Godly behavior to the populace.

As of late, I have been doing my best to change my behavior at the office, in order to reflect more of Christ and less of myself to my coworkers. Morning devotions help me with this, because they add a new concept to my behavior and attitude every day. What could be more appropriate than to remind me to be a good example of Godly behavior to others during the day than what I read this morning? With this in mind, I'd just walk into the office and be the best example of Jesus to others that I could be, right?

WRONG! I got to the office, and immediately began griping about one of my coworkers to another, in clear violation of God's word. Why? Because it was this person's behavior which interrupted my time with the Lord this morning. This person thought that whatever work-related problem came up was SO important that it warranted calling ME at 6:00AM and demanding that I fix it immediately. My personal time was interrupted, I didn't properly soak in the message, and I blamed someone else for it.

Did you catch all the usage of the words ME, I, and MY in the previous paragraph? That's right - selfishness took over. Any time I get out of step with God, that's what I default to. It's my own sinful, human nature at work. As soon as I had blown off steam and come to my senses enough to realize what I had just done, I bowed my head, and I asked God's forgiveness. I asked Him to teach me better behavior. I asked Him to empower me to be a better example of Christ to others, because it's what He asks of me. It's what He asks of all of us.

For the believer, this is one of the key elements of walking with God. As soon as you recognize that you have erred, as soon as the Holy Spirit convicts you of wrongdoing, hit your knees! DON'T WAIT. Every minute you wait to confess is another minute that can potentially drive you farther from the Lord. I guarantee that during that waiting time, you'll try to justify your sin to yourself. You'll invent reasons why your behavior was somehow acceptable. There's another word for self-justification; it's called LYING, which is also sin. One sin leads to another when sin is left unconfessed. Don't wait any longer. Get right with the Lord today. You'll feel much better for it. I know I do.

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." - Colossians 3:17

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." - Ephesians 4:29