In the past I have heard parents telling their kids that giving one year of their life to the Lord is a waste of time. It saddens me when I see their skewed view of God in their life and also knowing that they have influenced their children to have this same attitude as well. If this next generation takes on this vision, where does this leave us as a people of God in the years to come? We need to ask ourselves what we make priority in our life and decide what truly matters. What do we place above everything else? Is it to get ahead at work? Is it to make tons of money to spend for pleasure? Is it vanity and looking better than the rest? What is your focus?
There is no longer a passion and yearning to live as God’s children, and I think it’s because our view of God is painfully off. Above all things, He is supposed to be our priority. While God is a God of compassion, mercy, and grace, we have to remember that He is also jealous, righteous, and just. He wants our desire to be for Him and He wants that we place nothing before Him in our lives. I think that the way we are living is dangerous, we are Christians who are lukewarm, and know how to live double lives without even blinking an eye. The sad truth is that we look more like the world than followers of Christ. How are we supposed to be salt and light in this world when there’s nothing different between us and them? It’s time we wake up and really get to know God and His living Word. If we really loved God with a pure, undivided heart, we would yearn to obey Him, and never cause Him pain from our sin. We need to have hearts that are open, willing, and teachable to what He wants us to change and learn. Would our God look down on that kind of attitude? I think not! God is looking earnestly for people like this who are willing to put away their old life, with all the things of this world, and reach for holiness through a transformed mind. (Eph. 4:22-24; Rom. 12:1-2)
This change in all of us starts with the mind. We need to have the mind of Christ, looking out for the interests of others (Phil. 4:2) and loving them the way Chris loves us. We need to see sin the way God sees it, detesting all wrong things, and our actions will change. Being conscious of sin, we will be careful to do what is right in God’s eyes. When you love someone, you choose to do what please that person, and it is the same with God. Do you yearn to please your heavenly Father? If not, you might want to look back on what He did on the cross for you, it is then that you will realize the true reason for living.
A huge problem I feel we have is pride. It is woven into every part of our lives as it seeps into our thinking and changes our attitudes and actions. Pride is what caused Satan to fall, and unfortunately it sneaks into our lives, without us realizing how truly dangerous and demonic it is. Satan is working overtime to deceive God’s people, and we unknowingly follow Him because we don’t think! This pride that has been influencing our thoughts soon turns into selfishness, which then turns into the inconsideration of others.
Let’s change who we are as a people, detesting the things of the world with all its vain glory and superficial thoughts, and set our minds to think on things eternal (Col. 3:1-4). This life will soon pass, but the life after this one includes an eternity with Jesus- for those who have put their trust in Him as Savior. Compared to eternity, this life is like a vapor, it’s gone in a flash. Thinking about this, we need to set our minds on things above, for these are the things that truly matter.
