It would seem that many in the 21st century are extremely good at circumventing the approved process. Any approved process, no every approved process! We have the mindset that holds there must be an easier, quicker, more effective way of doing everything. I am not sure if this is a human nature issue or one of our age, but we’ve got it. The following comes from Vision and Character by Craig R Dykstra and it caused me to wonder.
“If our problem is really sin—a fundamental breach in human existence—then repentance, not self improvement, is the first requirement. This is the biblical view of the foundations of morality. The prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all beckoned their hearers to a new life by calling them first to give up the old in repentance (Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Acts 26:20; Rom. 2:4). Repentance is the absolutely inescapable first step of the Christian moral life. Without repentance, the Christian moral life if impossible.”
Could it be that we have neglected this first step in favor of an easier path? Self-improvement sounds great, even godly, but until we reject the practice of doing wrong, we’ll never reach our intended goal. This is true of dieting, of learning to play a musical instrument, of climbing the corporate ladder, of learning to print the alphabet, of living the Christian life.
“If our problem is really sin—a fundamental breach in human existence—then repentance, not self improvement, is the first requirement. This is the biblical view of the foundations of morality. The prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul all beckoned their hearers to a new life by calling them first to give up the old in repentance (Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3; Acts 26:20; Rom. 2:4). Repentance is the absolutely inescapable first step of the Christian moral life. Without repentance, the Christian moral life if impossible.”
Could it be that we have neglected this first step in favor of an easier path? Self-improvement sounds great, even godly, but until we reject the practice of doing wrong, we’ll never reach our intended goal. This is true of dieting, of learning to play a musical instrument, of climbing the corporate ladder, of learning to print the alphabet, of living the Christian life.
1 comment:
You were doing ok until you mentioned the D word! [dieting]
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