back to the basics...

I think that for the believer that has been on the journey of faith for awhile, it's easy to get sidetracked. for me, it's always been easy to be sidetracked by worship music, specific theological opinions on various topics, making sure my testimony "sounds good", fellowship with others, caring for the poor and needy, making sure my high school students feel cared for, etc. sometimes I feel like I haven't even done these things well due to other distractions in my life, but this is what I've tried to do.

those are all great things, but sometimes I've even forgotten WHY I am doing all this. they seem like good things to do in and of themselves, so I don't always remember the greater purpose. I just want to do those things "right" and I think that I sometimes deceive myself by believing that they ARE the greater purpose. I think that's easy to do because so much faith-based media focuses heavily on those things. there are cds, videos, books, and all kinds of stuff that focuses on different aspects of living the christian life outwardly.

these practical outward-based acts of faith are great, but without a clean, pure, and obedient heart, you are just a nice guy. the inward acts of faith are just as important. so another way that I am trying to get back to basics is through simple obedience. I've been seeing that word in various shapes and forms over the past few months, and I'll admit, I've ignored it to an extent. ok, a huge extent. in fact, let's be honest, sometimes I've ignored it all together. last night I explained my lack of obedience as doing what God doesn't want me to do and NOT doing what he does want me to do. I've got the double-whammy on disobedience. in what regards, you might ask? well, obeying in prayer, reading the bible, giving cheerfully (not just tithing), and talking to people. and then in things I should be staying away from: envy, lust, and pride* sometimes I write off acts of obedience as not practical, not me, and not really being from God. I think that over time, my heart that was once malleable has become hardened significantly. I have recognized that faith is terribly inadequate without obedience. I wish I could give that statement more weight. no matter how well I live in other regards, my faith is fake without obeying. so is yours.

so I am on the road to recovery.


* a side note on pride. pride is a funny thing. I don't consider myself a prideful guy. I don't get mad when I lose something and I don't usually have a difficult time admitting when I am wrong. but I do struggle with feeling superior about musical ability, my education level, and oddly enough, my income. I don't even make that much money, that's the funny thing. but these things do get the best of me in terms of pride. in fact, on second thought, my musical ability and education level aren't that great either. and the part that's hard to swallow sometimes is that God can take each and every one of those things away from me at any moment. they are, indeed, blessings to be used wisely, not things to be proud of.