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The position we find ourselves in today, is the result of all our yesterdays. Had all or some of our yesterdays been different, our position today would have been different.
Our actions, reactions, or lack of actions, during all our yesterdays, shaped and formed our deepest inner attitudes we have today. My inner attitudes therefore are the real me. My responses to situations and people, are birthed in my inner attitudes.
My inner attitudes, or the real me, determine which one of two continually active and opposite processes will be dominant in my life.--personal growth, or personal disintegration. (Looking at the fruit of my life, which tree have I largely fed from?)
As tomorrow's responses will come from yesterday's and today's input, do I need to change?
Human nature includes such qualities as kindness, love, modesty, patience, forgiveness, trust, generosity, humility, and self-forgetfulness, and also has elements that make us egotistical, selfish, resentful, dishonest, critical, jealous, proud and insincere.
We have been created with instincts or
desires to make us complete human beings. These desires are for material and
emotional security, sex and companionship. In harmony with God's will, these
are divine blessings - in God's plan. Without knowing God's will for our lives,
we automatically apply our own wills - that is self will - not in God's
plan. And ourselves ? Yes, very much the victims of self -through
self-will.
We manipulated as well as we could, and we allowed ourselves to be manipulated if it meant advantage or gain. Similarly we dominated or welcomed domination. We were charming or gracious as necessary. We told white lies, black lies, or the truth, as it suited us. We took much time and effort to protect our appearances and images. We "dropped -off" people we felt were too close to us. Barrier -up time, "I'll keep to myself".
Selfishness and self-centredness have been at the center of our
motivation up until now. We had desired everything to be done according to our
rules. We were driven by countless forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking,
and self-pity. Self manifested in so many ways, Proved beyond doubt to be our
destroyer.
But now that we have found Christ, or rather been found by Him, we have
yielded the control of our lives to Him, and have stopped trying to play God in
our own lives, as well as those around us.
We know the joy of being free.
The blessing of being free of the bondage of the slavery of self with its selfishness and self-centredness, saw us able to become interested in seeing how we could contribute to the lives of others. Our fears of today, tomorrow and the hereafter left, as new life and power flowed into us, giving us peace of mind, confidence in facing the future, and consciousness of Christ's presence.
We began to lose our fear of people, and sought rather to reach out to them from the well-spring of love which had been opened within us.
To say we will never be hurt by people would not be true, but as we draw on the love of God for us, the things which man can do to us are of little consequence. We have found the source of love and can draw more deeply out of that well, and never go thirsty again.
Because God, as the source of all love, has opened a spring in our heart, we desire spiritual progress.
This progress is not perfection and never will be as long as we live in mortal bodies subject to the corruption of sin around us. For even the things of nature cry out to be released from the tyranny of change and decay.
THIS IS POSITIVE, NOT
NEGATIVE, LIKE A STOCKTAKE, WE LIST ALL ITEMS, TO DECIDE WHAT WE KEEP, AND WHAT
WE DISCARD.
WE ALL HAVE GOOD QUALITIES
WITHIN US, AND HAVE ALL PERFORMED GOOD DEEDS.
WE LIST ALL THESE, AS WE GO.
THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT, SO THAT WE KEEP A BALANCED VIEW.
THE LISTED FORMAT, WITH
SIMPLE QUESTIONS, IS TO HELP US PROBE "TROUBLE OR PROBLEM AREAS", AS
WE GO BACK THROUGH OUR LIVES.
But let a man examine himself.
1 Cor. 11:28
