Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; indeed, sin is lawlessness. And you know that Jesus was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him. Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness—the one who does not love his fellow Christian—is not of God. 1 John 3:4-10
New English Translation
Your actions say so much more than your words ever will. See, it’s super easy for us to spin the truth with our words; however, our actions will either support what we said or reveal the missing links in our case. That’s right, words don’t make a person a Christian. We can say all the right things, memorize all the verses, and say all the “holy” things we’ve practiced, but at the end of the day, how we act and treat others will reveal what our heart really holds to.
This is something that will be a common experience in life. So often I’ve run into people who think that if they talk like a Christian that they can act however they want and still be tight with God. Yet, in that, they completely forget that having a relationship with Jesus is the same as having a good friend. When your friends keep saying one thing and then doing another thing, don’t you eventually get fed up with the act? I know I do. It’s happened so many times. How do you think God feels? I think He feels about the same as we do.
I think one thing that we easily forget is that we feel because God feels. We are made in the image of God, we reflect Him and how He is. No, we aren’t exact copies of Him, but we reflect different parts of Him. For example, we are creative because He is creative. In the same sense, we have emotions because He feels emotion. The only difference is that God is perfect in His emotions. He isn’t controlled by His emotions and He doesn’t allow them to hurt others. We on the other hand struggle with that aspect. So, God feels.
I think we would be less quick to disregard the importance of our actions in the scope of our relationship with God if we kept in mind His feelings about it. It’s so much easier to do whatever we want when we aren’t considering how it affects others and how it makes them feel. However, when we are considerate of those around us, we are more hesitant to just go for whatever because we don’t want to cause pain for others. What if we always lived like that? How different would life be? Instead of just being concerned about human’s feels, what if we were always concerned about whether our actions hurt God? I think we would have a lot more real Christians and a lot less lip service Christians if that were the case.
See, those who are “sinners” (a.k.a. people who don’t live in relationship with God) don’t think twice about what God thinks about how they act. It’s all about what they want and what fulfills their desires. That’s the key, the selfish pursuit of “my.” It all comes back to my desires, my feelings, my this, my that.
When someone is tight with God, it changes to a selfless pursuit of Him. Rather than it being all about what we want, it becomes centered around what He thinks, what He says, what makes Him happy. That’s what life with Jesus means. A life pursuing the good things He directs us to. Every day our life is supposed to be centered on loving God back, not on loving our own selfish desires.
It’s really easy to identify whether a person is centered on Jesus or centered on themselves. Just sit in on one of their decision making moments. What’s the core concern? Them or God? What consumes their speech on a daily basis? Them or God?
I think that’s one of the hardest things to overcome. In a world where selfishness is promoted and encouraged, we have to unlearn everything that the world has crammed down our throats since birth and intentionally choose to live righteous before God. Though it might be a challenge, it is worth it. Once you surrender and begin to live for God, it changes your heart.
One of the hardest questions to honestly answer about ourselves is whether we are selfish. It’s easy to hide selfish desires behind a facade. But, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, selfishness is any pursuit not centered on God. When we break that off, and we begin an undeniable pursuit of God, it becomes so much harder to live selfish again.
My question for you today is what is your life centered around? You or God? What matters most to you? Getting your way? Or honoring God? Be honest with yourself. Honesty is the first step toward God. When we are open about our struggles, that’s when we are able to let God touch them and change them. However, until that honest admission is made, the problem is only allowed to grow and become more harmful to your soul. Now is the best time to release everything to God. Tomorrow is not promised, and I want you to begin your eternity with God right here and now.