Tenure Vs Maturity

After many years spent doing anything, one gains valuable experience. Experience usually breeds skill and take us to the point where we can do something without even thinking about it sometimes. Experience is important and in the secular world, length of service (tenure) is valuable and comes with all sorts of perks.


However, in the Christian world, tenure or length of service as a Christian can lead to complacency and make us comfortable with our current state.  Save for the fact that we have had the opportunity to make more mistakes and therefore have a bit more experience correcting them,  tenure does not make us better off than a newborn babe. 

Sometimes,  with all those years come some pretty bad habits and the refusal to change.  Some of us have spent a lot of years getting away with certain things and even though it's not consciously done,  we feel like we can continue to get away with those things.

Today,  I realized that,  by not knowing what I know now when I started my walk 17 years ago,  I developed some pretty bad habits that are difficult to let go of.  Whilst in my head I know there are a lot of things that I have not done or are not doing right,  it's hard to make the changes because I have been doing it this way for so long.

I had the opportunity to speak to a friend recently who has been a Christian for almost as long as I have. We were at a social gathering and were having fun catching up on old times when did something in my presence. I remarked casually in joking fashion "girl, you haven't changed one bit". Her response shocked me into silence. She said "no, I haven't and I won't change for anybody." What was just a casual conversation between friends suddenly became a stark realization in my head and I almost couldn't continue our conversation. It was then I realized that length of service sometimes brings us to a point where we simply refuse to change our bad habits. We become so comfortable with ourselves just the way we are that we fail to realize that Christianity is all about change. It is about waking up daily and saying Lord, those things that are still in me that need to be changed, please, continue to work on it. Christianity is about recognizing where we are wrong and making a conscious decision to be different. The only way to be like Christ is to be less like ourselves, and we can't do that by becoming comfortable with where we are.

So this is one disadvantage of tenure.  We sometimes think of Romans 12:1 - 2 as advice for the young Christian to learn to renew their minds,  but I'm learning that the renewal of the mind must be constant.  We never stop growing and because we are always living,  there will always be a necessity for change.  Transformation is not an overnight thing,  it is a process that will never end simply because our sinful nature will never go away.

Tenure cannot be traded for Christian maturity.  Maturity requires action.  Tenure is only an existence.  If you never do anything,  you will still have tenure but you will never mature. 

Today, my encouragement to all of us to remember that Christianity is about change, growth and maturity. Let us not become comfortable with our bad habits or simply make a decision to stay the way we are. Let us remember that no matter how many years we have been Christians, we can still be immature.

May we change, grow and mature together.

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab a copy, click one of the images below. 

Fruit of the Spirit: LOVE

This is the first of a nine post series on the Fruit of the Spirit. Before we delve into the whole thing, let's talk about the Fruit for a while.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23

You will note that the word fruit is singular, this means that each characteristic described above does not exist in isolation but is part of a whole. In other words, we are not being called to display only love without self-control, or kindness without faithfulness. These are all things that we should strive for.

LOVE

What is love?
We have discussed love on this blog before but let us define it again.

Simply put, Love is a decision to prosper another person above yourself. It means that when you love someone, you consider their needs above your own.

There are many aspects to love. Infact many languages have more than one word for the concept of love. Today we'll look at just a few ways that love is manifested.

Love for one person to another
The bible paints an excellent picture for what love is and what it is not in relation to people loving each other. In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 it tells us:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

The bible also tells us that love for one another: 

Is Precious: 

Proverbs 15:17

A bowl of vegetables with someone you love

is better than steak with someone you hate.

Is Edifying: 

1 Corinthians 8:1

Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.

Is Unquenchable: 

Proverbs 17:17

A friend is always loyal,

and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Songs of Solomon 8:6-7

Many waters cannot quench love,

nor can rivers drown it.

If a man tried to buy love

with all his wealth,

his offer would be utterly scorned.

Promotes peace: 

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up quarrels,

but love makes up for all offenses.

Proverbs 17:9

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven,

but dwelling on it separates close friends.

These scriptures show us how powerful love is. If we learn to love each other the way it is taught in 1 Corinthians 13:4 -7, I'm sure we can all agree that the world would be a much greater place to live. 

Love of People for God

1 John 5:3 tells us something amazing: 

Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
This means that our love for God can be demonstrated very easily. If we say we love Him, then what we have to do is pretty simple, keep his commandments! Wow. And here we all thought it meant we had to be at church a certain number of times for the week or serve on as many committees as possible or show our fellow Christians how much doctrine we know. Whilst these things are important, God simply requires one thing from us, that we do what He asks. Doing what He asks shows Him respect and shows Him love. 

Love of Money

This aspect shows us that love can have an evil side. Unfortunately for us, most of the problems we currently face in the world stem from man's love for money. People kill each other so that they can aquire what the other person has. Entire countries are suppressed and their resources stripped because of how valuable they are. We spend billions on war in an effort to control what another country has whilst children are starving all over the world. This list can go on and on and on. The point is that the bible is correct when it says: 

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)

So today, let us learn to exercise love for one another, the way the bible said we should. Let us also remember that God requires that we show love to him in the simplest way possible, just do what He asks. And finally, be reminded that love directed at the wrong thing can cause chaos in the world and in our loves. Let us set our priorities according to God's will and we will be much better off.

Next week, we will exam the second characteristic of the fruit, JOY! 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab a copy, click one of the images below. 

Gossiping

Gossiping.  We all know that it's wrong yet we all still do it.  Yes,  that's right.  I said all of us.   Every body gossips or has gossiped at some point in their lives.  Sometimes it happens accidentally or unconsciously but it still happens. 

It is so easy to be pulled into gossip.  You may not be a compulsive gossiper; you may not even like gossip, but somewhere along the line somebody comes to you with a juicy story that you just can't help listening to.  It may even appear that you are discussing the story out of concern for the individual in question.  However, at the end of the day, it's still gossip. 

Dictionary.com defines gossip as idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.  We can all agree that we've all done that, right?

So what makes gossiping so dangerous? Let's see,  here are a few reasons.

1. A lot of the time the things we gossip about simply aren't true.  We can do a lot of damage to someone's character, family life, careers etc with idle talk.  We even justify our gossiping by saying where there is smoke there must be fire, but have you ever come across a situation where there isn't even an ounce of truth in a story that you've heard?

2. Gossiping can lead someone to depression.  The worst possible feeling you can have is knowing that you are being talked about but not knowing what is being said.  Maybe people have gone into states of depression because of this.  Others have committed suicide.  It's easy to say that people should keep their heads up and ignore gossip about themselves, but let's be honest.  Some people aren't very strong and we destroy them with our idle words.  We are like bullies preying on the weak. You never really know what people are going through behind closed doors and your idle talk may just be the thing that pushes them over the edge. 

3. It's just plain wrong. I clicked through one of my bible apps and just did a search for the word gossip in the NLT version. Even I was astounded by the number of results. Here are just a few. 

Proverbs 16:28

A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. 

Proverbs 17:4

Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander. 

Proverbs 20:19

A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don't hang around with chatterers. 

Proverb 25:23

As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!

Proverbs 26:20

Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. 

Psalm 15:1,3 (I advise that you read the whole chapter)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? 

3 Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbours or speak evil of their friends. 

So how do we avoid Gossiping? I said earlier that most of us do it unconsciously but there are ways to recognise gossip and nip it in the bud. 

1. Are you talking to a third party about somebody else's business? That's gossip,  so stop. 

2. Are you really sure that you are doing this so that you can help that individual? If so,  what is your plan for helping.  If you have none then stop talking.  It's not your business. 

3. We all have friends who are just dying to know the latest developments in some body else's life.  The unfortunate thing is that we often come across information because people confide in us.  So let us learn to keep things that are confidential to ourselves.  Don't even tell your other best friend.  It's how gossip starts in the first place.  When asked,  simply say "I was told in confidence"  and leave it there.  Eventually your friends will learn that they shouldn't even bother to ask you about some body else's business. These two verses of scripture bring out this point clearly. 

Proverbs 11:13

A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

Proverbs 25:10

Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation. 

I hope these tips can help us become more aware of gossip and how easily we can fall into the trap.  As with all things,  awareness is the first step towards resolution. 

Have a blessed day. 

Devotions like this one and others can be found in the Soul Food Series in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab a copy, click one of the images below. 

Wearing Kindness around your neck!

Are you loving and kind? If you are a Christian you will probably say yes. Love and kindness are words that are or should be synonymous with Christianity. In other words, if you are a Christian, then you should be loving and kind.

Well, unfortunately for some of us, love and kindness are actions, not feelings. You see, love does no one any good if it is not demonstrated. Same goes for kindness. A hungry child is not fed simply because you feel compassion towards them. They only get fed if you get up and feed them.

I watched a pretty disturbing video yesterday where a camera crew and a couple of actors tested the general public on a street corner. They pretended to kidnap a 7 yr old girl (also an actor). This little girl called out for help several times, screaming at the top of her lungs "he's not my dad". Several people passed by (men, women and teens), but no one helped this girl. Over and over, they did their act until finally a group of men, without uttering a word to each other acted in unison. They not only felt compassion or kindness towards the little girl, they acted on it.

That story reminds me of Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. Our world has conditioned us to think in a "it's not my business" kind of way and even as Christians we adopt that culture. We ignore the plight, not only of our fellow Christians but also of our fellow men in general, thinking that somebody else will help.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:3 (NLT)Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Something tied around your neck or written deep in your heart cannot easily be forgotten. Let us remember to exercise kindness at all times. Don't leave it to someone else. Don't feel sad and then do nothing about a situation. Your feelings don't help anyone. It's your actions that do.

Go out today with kindness tied around your neck!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Avoiding self-inflicted depression

Some times we humans crave for things we shouldn't have. Maybe an extra candy bar when we're trying to lose a few pounds, or maybe it's relationship that's off limits for whatever reason. Since the garden of Eden, man has wanted what wasn't good for them.

I'm sure we've all found ourselves in the situation where God has said no about something we want yet we continue to toy with the idea in our heads. We romanticize the moment when we finally get want we want, dreaming of the possibilities and how beautiful it will be. We day-dream and obsess and obsess and obsess. And the more we obsess, the more we need to torture ourselves at the end of the day when we're reminded that the things we spent the day dreaming about can never happen.  When the harsh reality hits, we're on the brink of depression and all we can think to do is blame God. "Lord, why can't things ever work out for me? I never get anything that I want. Everybody is happy except me." Does that sound at all familiar?

Does the thing you want most but know you can't have consume your thoughts? Do you dream that just for one moment things will be different and you will get to have want to really want. Then you need to quit torturing yourself. The answer is already no and God won't change his mind. Dwelling on the situation daily will not make Him change His decision. All it does at the end of the day is make you bitter, angry and depressed. You're destroying yourself and in the process you're failing to see the good things that God has in store for you; the things that are actually yours. Your life could be a lot happier if you'd accept the things you can't have and look to God with trust for your future.

Stop the self destructive behavior. Instead of dwelling on what you can't have, occupy your mind with something productive. Learn a new skill that falls in line with your life plan. Develop a new hobby. Play music while you work to keep your thoughts from straying. Actively monitor your thoughts. When you notice that you have slipped, make a decision to stop and deliberately occupy your mind with some thing else. And of course, ask God for help to overcome the thoughts and the obsession with whatever desire you have. Believe it or not, he will provide a way of escape but you have to be willing to move on and your eyes must be open to see what he's brought you.

Have a blessed day and remember to take control of your thought life. 

Would you like to own a collection of devotions like this one? 

Try one of these titles, devotions from this blog in two collections. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo