Understand Your Badness

Today's reading comes from my new book, 52 Days of Grace, available now on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle.

Understand Your Badness

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.  God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’  To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.   But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.  There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.   For God does not show favoritism.”  (Romans 2:5-11)

We live in a world where who we know is more important than what we know.   Even a poorly qualified kid with a bad attitude and poor work ethic can get his foot in the door of virtually any corporation or organization with the right connections.   It is an attempt to fool Human Resources into thinking this individual would be an asset to their company, and the youngster may even believe that himself.

God is showing us in this passage how different His economy is to the world’s.  He judges us solely on our heart: our intentions, our attitudes or the direction we turn our face.  He knows whether we are seeking our own selfish desires or His.  He reads our hearts and identifies whether we follow Him or follow evil.  He takes a look at our attitudes and discerns if we have truly accepted the Truth or if we are following a lie.  We can’t bluff our way past God.

It is easy to read this passage and think, I’m not following evil.  Maybe I’m not fully committed to Jesus, but I’m not evil.  The scriptures tell us differently.  Either we are for Him, or against Him. (Matthew 12:30)  Either He is master, or something or someone else is. (Matthew 6:24) 

Consider the words of C.S. Lewis, author and 20^th Century Christian intellectual, “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him.  When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.”  Each time we rely on our own judgment of ourselves and our behavior instead of God’s, we are following evil. 

For example, when I justify the nasty tone when speaking to my husband with the thought that he deserved that because of how he hurt me this morning, I am setting my own standards and thus claiming to be my own god.  If instead I turn over those feelings of hurt to Jesus and ask Him to show me where I am wrong, I am submitting to His lordship.  He will accordingly give me His perspective which sheds light on my own faulty line of reasoning.  It is not about being perfect, but about wanting to please my Father more than I want to protect my own feelings.  It is about submitting myself to God and letting Him defend me instead of thinking I have to protect myself.  This attitude shows how much I trust God.

God isn’t impressed with our connections or credentials; we can’t fool Him.  He is pleased with a heart that is fully committed to Him and a willingness to see our sin for what it is.  There is no way to sugar-coat disobedience and rebellion in God’s Kingdom. 

My heart reveals my motives for which

God will hold me accountable.

How are you guilty of sugar-coating your sin, calling it a “mistake,” a “blunder” or an “oversight”?

Are you honest with God, or do you try to bluff your way through prayer, pretending to be something you’re not?

Do you believe that God can handle the truth about you, and that He will never forsake you because of the blood of Christ?  There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Heavenly Father,

I see Your goodness and I know Your standards, yet I try to pretend I’m something I’m not when I’m spending time with You. Thank You for the abundance of Your grace.   I ask Your help in dropping the pretenses and being honest and authentic in my relationship with You.  I know You love me with a love that will never end.  Help me to accept Your unconditional love.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen

For more information on ordering your own copy of 52 Days of Grace, click on the image of the book below: