One of the obstacles in pursuing righteousness is not having a good understanding of God’s will and so we are swayed by the pressures of the world. In Acts 5:29 the apostles lived out their bold statement of faith, “We ought to obey God rather than men” when they continuing sharing the good news of Jesus after they were threatened.
We can unknowingly have our understanding of what is right conformed to the world’s way of thinking when we spend more time with social media than in God’s holy word.
“…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2 NKJV)
God wants us to look different from the world; obedience to His commands will cause us to look different because His way is different – it is better – in its consistent, never-changed/never-changing truth.
“…the word of God which lives and abides forever… The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:23b, 25a NKJV)
At every opportunity society will happily tell us WHAT to think, while God teaches us HOW to think. Society’s way is easy, while God’s way takes commitment, time, and effort (consider Matthew 7:13-14). Proper discernment of good and evil only comes from reading, understanding, and applying God’s word and will (Hebrews 5:12-14) and that does take time and daily determination.
Sometimes though, it’s not society’s influence that slows or even halts our progress… sometimes we need to be told, “We ought to obey God rather than ourselves.” We can be our biggest obstacle in pursuing righteousness because we feel we know enough and don’t desire to know more. Why? Because change is hard, it can be exhausting! God’s word demands change in us and when we feel that all we are doing is changing or we are the only one changing we just don’t want to keep doing it. We think we know the basics: go to church services, don’t be mean, don’t kill anyone, and we leave it there. We go through our days obeying our own sense of right without honing our discernment through continued learning, obedience, and change.
God commands us, through Paul, to flee youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22) – pride in our own self-limited knowledge/understanding and slothful servitude are part of the youthful lusts that we are to leave behind (1 Corinthians 13:11) and not return to as we pursue righteousness.
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” (Philippians 3:12-15 NKJV)
Are
you determined to obey God rather than men? Rather than yourself?
Dig in, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)!
You are not alone, we’re all in this together (1 Peter 5:9)! Change is hard, be patient (James 1:2-4) and trust God, the end result is worth your continued effort!
And no matter what the world tries to tell you, remember that God’s
way is and always will be the best
way!
“He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness, and honour.” (Proverbs 21:21 NKJV)
Keep your daily determination to flourish even more in righteousness
this year!
You
can do it! So can I!!
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