January 22: Stop Being Bossy and Start Helping
Affirmation: I am grateful for my body, mind and soul. God made me.
I spent most of my career as a trial lawyer, and have heard every lawyer joke there is. They still make me chuckle a little. I know Jesus loves kids, but He didn’t seem to be fond of lawyers. When you find Jesus saying, “Woe to you,” a reference to a lawyer usually isn’t far away.
It feels a little close to home to read this in the scriptures, but it is true, and I think I know why. It’s not the profession that is the problem; it’s the people who beat other people up with religious rules and laws.
Jesus takes it seriously how we treat the rules He made for living beautiful, meaningful lives, and He cares about how we caretake His promises. But He doesn’t ask us to be the hall monitors of other people‘s conduct as we are figuring our own out. He asked us to be the light in otherwise dark world. Maybe the reason Jesus talked so much about being a bright light was so to keep us focused. If we remain intent on doing beautiful things in the world, we won’t become distracted by what others are doing. This doesn’t mean we are indifferent to what is happening around us. In fact, it is just the opposite. We will be so aware of our own need to be an example of our faith that we will stop being enforcer of everyone else’s.
Let your light shine brightly. You’ll know you are doing it right when others see your good deeds and give the applause to God, not you.
Who can you reach out to today with love and acceptance rather than words of correction?
~~~~~~~Ponder & Personalize: How are you doing with your memorization? Begin to personalize this verse. Today I am thinking about where I want the wisdom I rely on to come from and how I may recognize it. The two versions of the verse may help as you personalize the verse.
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.“
James 3:17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.3.17.NLT
”But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.“
James 3:17 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.3.17.NIV
~~~~~~~Catching Whimsy by Bob Goff
It feels a little close to home to read this in the scriptures, but it is true, and I think I know why. It’s not the profession that is the problem; it’s the people who beat other people up with religious rules and laws.
Jesus takes it seriously how we treat the rules He made for living beautiful, meaningful lives, and He cares about how we caretake His promises. But He doesn’t ask us to be the hall monitors of other people‘s conduct as we are figuring our own out. He asked us to be the light in otherwise dark world. Maybe the reason Jesus talked so much about being a bright light was so to keep us focused. If we remain intent on doing beautiful things in the world, we won’t become distracted by what others are doing. This doesn’t mean we are indifferent to what is happening around us. In fact, it is just the opposite. We will be so aware of our own need to be an example of our faith that we will stop being enforcer of everyone else’s.
Let your light shine brightly. You’ll know you are doing it right when others see your good deeds and give the applause to God, not you.
Who can you reach out to today with love and acceptance rather than words of correction?
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