God or Man? - Getting the Right Results

Hello,

It's interesting that this week's devotional should come up at such a time as this, because I'm going through a very personal struggle right now and I'm going to do my best to see that I use this to fuel the latest of my teachings.

Honestly! When I use the word 'teachings', I'm making it sound like I'm some kind of renowned speaker... well I guess you've got to start somewhere, huh? :-D

Let's begin...


There are two ways we can live our lives; to serve our own needs or to serve others' needs and oftentimes it can be about striking a balance between the two. However, there are some out there who would have you believe that there is no point in serving the interest of others.
 
So far, on "60 Seconds of Faith", we have covered: -

• a two-part look at the hidden power behind perseverance;
• the power in knowing the goals you are heading toward;
• the promised rest that is available the moment things are in kilter with God's greater plan;
• the fact that God is always with us and will never leave us;
• the idea that all it takes is for the finger of God to move in order for us to see change in any situation;
• what happens when our priorities are in sync as we help people; and
• a three-part look at what it means to be "a workman approved unto God"

This week's post takes the sixth post and comes at it in a different direction as I introduce the idea that serving others' interests can clash with serving the interests of our God.

To put it plainly, God would have me to love Him first and foremost, with the love for my neighbour equating to the love I have for myself, following closely behind.

The Hardest Thing

What can sometimes be the hardest thing to do, though, is to treat others as equally as you yourself would prefer to be treated, especially if they have wronged you.

Take me, for instance, last week I met up with a friend of mine who mistakenly invited someone else to what I was led to believe was a catch-up between just the two of us.

I have real problems with this "extra" person.

Let me go on record as saying that, right now.

Why?

To be completely honest & blunt, I have never, ever met someone who leaves me feeling like my opinions have just gone under a steamroller in all my frickin' life! >:-(

What I'm trying to say is that it feels, when I talk to him, like he thinks it's acceptable to storm over my opinions as though I'm not allowed to do one of two things: -

1. Have an opinion; and
2. Have an opinion that's different to his

The first point is the one that annoys me so much because I've met people like this before, they're nothing short of abrasive, annoying and to be quite honest they're best off slingshotted from your life for good. They can be a really destructive force, if you're not careful.

Taking a Belt-Sander to the Face

I go on record at this point as saying that I do not judge this person, because I as a Christian, am called to love each person equally, no matter how hard that is at times. But let me at this point address how it makes me feel: -

Listen to what 'Raging Raven' says: -

"Give me your anger, Snake! Let it boil to the surface. Let your fury flow freely!"

Does that give you an idea what I'm dealing with here?

Don't worry, I'm getting to how this ties in with this week's devotional!

I have a choice here, I can decide to cut this person from my life, spend as little time in their presence, which I totally have the choice of doing.

Or I can not.

The way I give my answer is by stating that I only have to wonder whether my life would be better with them in it or out of it. I know the answer to that one already. We do not need destructive forces in our lives, not at this stage in our lives!

I will pray for this person, that much is true, and I will pray for myself as their abrasive, sometimes offensive attitude is nothing short of an annoyance to me. But I'm not perfect.

Instead, what I will do is to remember that any time the service of others comes at the expense of serving God, is a time to pull things up short and ask myself whether it really is worth following that path to its destination.

Take what happened to Jonah, for instance; he thought he'd go to a different city to the one God wanted him to go to... and look where it got him!

Final Thought

What I am saying today is that you can choose who to keep around you in terms of friendships.

The idea behind this is simply to show that the moment I put the service of others' needs before the service of my God, is the time that balance is off-kilter in life.

"Yes but serving others is God's requirement" you come back with and to that I say "amen" you are right, but what is not God's requirement is for you to keep people around you that are going to stop you from becoming everything that you are called to be.

That is called affixing anchors to yourself when you're called to soar freely.

So next time you're tempted to serve someone else's needs, stop and ask yourself whether that comes at the expense of serving God! ;)

Peace out!