Your good intentions are not righteousness in the eyes of God. Talking about, dreaming about or just thinking about doing something righteous does not equal a good or righteous act. Imagine telling God, as you stand before Him one day,"But, Lord, I had so many good and righteous thoughts about doing everything you commanded me to do, I just didn't get around to getting it done!". We shall all suffer shame from our procrastination and slothfulness. It is our lack to follow through on the commands of God that judges us guilty.
I want you to go to the mirror and look at your self right now. Then look deep into the eyes of that person who is facing you and ask God, "Please show me where I am being disobedient and slothful. Please show me Where I am lazy and where I just don't care about doing what is right but what I want to do." I dare you to walk away and not admit how bad that person is that looks back at you in the mirror. I want you to get tough on that person and be in reality about all those things that you continually put off. We can be so painfully lazy.
Did I say lazy?
Yes! You and I can be lazy. Sinfully lazy to be more precise. We continually look for a place to sit down, relax and let someone else do that thing we just cannot bring ourselves to do. We can turn on the TV, watch movies, eat our snacks, lounge in our recliners and become a part of the good ole American way of living. But we won't give up our comforts or time to do what it takes to be a friend to the friendless, hope to the hopeless or salvation to the lost. We have out limits and there are just certain things we will not do. We don't subscribe to giving up our lives. We want to "live it up and enjoy life today, while it is called today, before we die and don't have a chance to live the good life any longer." Isn't there a Bible verse that says that?
How lazy are we?
We are so lazy we will avoid all appearance of laziness by talking bad about everyone else and draw the attention to them, rather than us. We will hide in our rooms or homes, to avoid contact with people who will hold us accountable because we want our own own way. We want to be entertained. We feed our bellies and satisfy our lust for whatever makes us feel good. We are shallow and insincere. We are only interested in doing what pleases us!
Getting the picture?
So where are the good intentions?
All over the place. We speak of love but fail to do it. We complain about our neighbors, relatives and people we don't even know in order to make ourselves look good, but all the time we are just hiding behind those good intentions. We will send our money, (Only what we have left over after we get what we want.) but we won't lift a finger to DO anything other than dial the number or click on a pay button. We don't really care about doing anything, we are just interested in looking good in front of our peers. We want people to think kindly about us and befriend us. We think that God will reward us for being so generous. What a sham! Are we really this evil? YES. We are evil and we are worse than that.
I don't know how many times I have said I was going to do something and didn't follow through with it. I can't even remember all the things I have had good intentions about doing. I'm sure they sounded really good at the time I said it, but there was not one ounce of effort put into doing anything about it. Not even the effort to write it down so I wouldn't forget to do it. And what about all those to-do lists that items never got checked off? And the things that were half done and not finished?
I'll be right back . . . an hour and a half later . . .
The meeting starts at 7 PM . . . 7:38 you arrive and want to get an update on what was talked about for the past half hour. This happens every week.
Even the things I really felt inclined to do failed to produce any fruit because the vigor and feeling of"I want to" dimmed and went away. It was there, just a little while before but other interests took its place and those good intentions became a fleeting series of thoughts only. After time I couldn't even remember what they were.
What about the phone call you were going to make? The person you were going to visit? That box of clothes you were going to take to GoodWill? The car that hasn't been cleaned out since you bought it? The refrigerator you were going to clean out? The visit to the dentist? Do you have a problem showing up on time to anything that is scheduled? I don't mean a few minutes late, I mean actually a few minutes early.
What in the world are we doing? Is there any hope for any of us who meet these descriptions? Can we possibly think that we can change and become doers rather than talkers? No. We cannot. We are just deceiving ourselves if we do. There is not one ounce of ability in us to do anything different. Why? Let's be honest and tell the truth. Because we just don't care! We certainly don't care about doing anything about the way we are or we would have already started doing something more than talking about it. Don't be deceived into thinking your thinking is different than it was before you read this. It's not. You are still just reading these words and thinking, how can this guy, who admitted to being as lazy as I am, tell me I am this lazy bum who will never change?
Because it is the truth. You may not want to admit it but it is.
DO you want to do something about it? If so, WHAT do you want to do about it?
Let's see . . . Nothing? Something later? Something one day? Something when I have to? Something right now? Good Intentions? Lot's of talking but no action? What has to change for you to start doing something different?
I'll tell you what needs to change. You need a heart transplant and you need a brain washing or a new mind to think new thoughts with.
The only way you are going to ever change is to experience a transformation inside of you. You are going to have to get on your knees and pray to God that He doesn't kill you before He forgives you for being so totally wretched and wicked inside of your lazy and worthless self. And then you are going to need to ask Him to change you so you can learn how to do the things you need to be doing. Ask Him to change you from a lazy bum into a doer of His commands. From a wicked person to a righteous saint. Pray for mercy and grace. Then and only then do you have a hope of actually changing.
I know there are those that struggle with doing the right thing and are not just slothful. There are those that are trying to do the right thing. They are working in their own strength and they are trying day after day but meet with failure over and over again. They just can't quite get it to happen. Eventually they will slide into despair and give up. They lose hope of ever being different. They join the ranks of good intenders. Or should we say great pretenders?
Once you give up all hope of fixing yourself and muscling through all your good intentions with the might of your hand, you are started on the right track. You must give everything you have become over to God. He will change you, save you from yourself and all you think you can do. When God changes you, you will have what it takes to do those things you have in your heart. You won't become the victim of your circumstances or the wimp with every excuse known to man. You will be empowered to do those things that God has for you. You will start caring about those things and people around you. You will learn to love and give up your life.
So here is my hope for you and all those that are the great pretenders and have good intentions. That the God of all that is will visit you in person and pull you out of the fire of destruction. I pray that you will give up the personal fight for perfection or the flight from responsibility and embrace the hand of God that is reaching out to you. Commit your life to being led in every way, every day, by the one who loves you far more than I could ever be trained to love. Look in His face and see who you are. Then let Him change you and empower you with His Life forever.
No more "Good Intentions"!
No more pretending!
Be real to a real God and enjoy the Life He has to impart to you. Let Him change your "good intentions" into the "righteous acts of God" before it's too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment