If you want me to be honest, I originally wanted to name this article When Christians Stop ‘Christianing’, but that’s a little too much. I didn’t want anyone to get their holy underpants in a wad.
I recently had this thought as I was reading in some group messages as other people were talking about how Christians should live their lives. They themselves were proclaimed Christians, and what they were saying was 100% right. Except what they were saying is the same thing I’ve been hearing every other Christian say for the past I-don’t-know-how-long. Really the focus isn’t on the content of their message, just that it usually ended up focusing on the shoulds.
Let me throw this out there too, I’m not perfect, and I tend to say and know a lot of shoulds that I should be doing; I think I’ve just started noticing all this lately.
Of all the people in the New Testament, Jesus was the hardest on and most passionate about rebuking the Pharisees and Sadducees. Why? Because they talked a big talk but their walk was far from their self-proclaimed shoulds.
Hmm, remind you of anybody? Or a lot of somebodies?
The reason that I’m bringing this topic up is because I want us as Christians to make a change- to be the change that I know we were called to make. The reason that God has not called us home to Heaven yet is because we have a job, just like Peter and John and the rest of the disciples had back in the book of Acts. They were to proclaim to the world about this Jesus who came to forgive our sins and reconcile us to the Father just like we are to do.
I want to keep this article short and sweet, maybe a little shorter than sweet, but you know what I getting at. 2 Timothy 1:17 says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” We have a spirit of power, love and discipline—a perfect combination to live out of the shoulds we all know about.
So let’s not be Pharisees and talk a talk, but instead walk a walk that will change lives. The living-out part and proclaiming may be awkward and hard, and it may even use all the faith and energy you have, but the blessings you will receive from God and the ultimate contentment and joy will far pass anything you’ve ever experienced.
