Practice what we preach

It was a time when I thought I was at the foot of the Cross. I slipped up and didn't practice what I preach. I apologized to the person and asked God for His forgiveness.

I was helping an elderly friend with his broken down car. The folks fixing his car were working on it for two weeks. My friend is hearing impaired, so I took him over to the car repair place several times to communicate with the fixers as to what was being fixed and when it would be ready. Finally they said the car was ready and my friend asked me to drive him to pick it up.

When we got there, I got into a discussion with the manager about the work done and their warranties.  Thinking I was helping my friend, I allowed myself to turn things into an argument. To make a long story short, I blew my top and talked very loud and condemning to the manager.

Before leaving, I did however; shake the manager's hand and apologized for getting so upset. I used my anger to handle the problem instead of God's peace and love. I repented and returned to the Lord.

In Matthew 23:1-5 we are reminded: Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,  saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men.”

Even when we seek to include the Lord in all things, we can be diverted by what the natural world would suggest we do.  That includes straightening people out when we think they are working against us or someone we love. We forget the old idiom, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”  It is easier to persuade people using polite arguments than it is being confrontational.

In Romans 2:21-22 St. Paul tells us, “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²² You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?”  We must be careful in our ministry to others, and not suggest something in life for others to practice if we don’t practice it ourselves. 

The only perfect man that has ever lived, Jesus, has become the Christ, and has gone to His Father.  He taught us so much while He dwelt among us, but he knows that we are not capable of perfection.  We will sin no matter how hard we try to avoid sin. His command to us is to repent and return to the Lord.

When we seek the Lord our God in all things we will be the first to know when we sin.  We will be our biggest critic while God is so forgiving of us. In my angry moment I described above, I knew immediately I had stepped over God’s line in my behavior.  I became depressed and concerned. When I turned from worry and depression to repentance, I felt God’s forgiveness and I was reconciled to Him.

I knew that in order to continue to serve the Lord, I had to take His forgiveness, forgive myself and the fellow I had become angry with. It is so easy for us to jump to conclusions quickly in our world. One of the ways this can occur is to become too wrapped up with all the local, national and world news that we contact each day. So many opinions about so many things make it difficult for us to truly understand what is going on around us. It can overflow and put us in a critical bent about all of life.

In Matthew 6:33 we are reminded, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”     Pray for me a sinner.