“Yes you may do many things but only that which I direct you to do can have my blessing.”
Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Julia Roberts,
Sometimes we equate things that we have with God’s favor. If we make good money, then our job must be in God’s will. If we have a nice car, clothes, etc., then God’s blessing must be upon us. This is indeed not the truth. If our actions do not align with God’s word, we are not in His will and nothing we do or have has God’s blessing.
I recently met the girlfriend of an individual who is Christian. This girl was a really nice and sweet girl. The problem is she is not a believer. This individual was convinced that this relationship was in God’s will because this person was so great and so nice. I have heard of individuals, who have a great paying job, and they give some of their income to the church, but this job requires them to work long nights where they are away from their family, and weekends where they are unable to attend church. I have seen Christians come to church dressed in designer clothes, driving expensive cars, praising God for their blessings, but they also spend much of their life gossiping, causing dissension and not following the word of God.
I say all of this because as humans we try to justify our actions all the time. We have a job that prevents us from coming to church, but since we tithe, the job is in God’s will. We are in a relationship and the person is not Christian, but because they are nice, the relationship must be in God’s will. We gossip and lie all the time, but since we have material wealth, we must not be doing anything wrong.
I want to remind each and every one of us that if we are doing something that is not aligned with the word of God,
with the Bible, it does not matter how much we justify it, or convince ourselves we are being blessed by God, or God is okay with our actions. God does not bless nor does He smile upon those who don’t live according to His will.
I will end with the quote I began with.
“Yes you may do many things but only that which I direct you to do can have my blessing.”
“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.”
I know I am known for my lengthy blogs, but I came across this quote today and I think it speaks for itself. But I will briefly put in my two cents.
Your character is determined not by how you treat the bank manager, when you are trying to get a loan, but how you treat the waiter when your food is cold. Not by how you treat the car sales man when you are trying to get a deal, but how you treat the hotel maid who is cleaning your room. Not by how you treat the choir director who has control over who sings the solo, but how you treat the person who cleans the church. Not by how you treat your boss when you are trying to get a raise, but how you treat the person who answers the phones. Not by how you treat the mayor of your particular city, but how you treat the homeless who lives on the street.
We need to be godly with everyone we come in contact with. We need to be a light to the waiter just as we need to be a light to the businessman. We need to be a light to the homeless just as we need to be a light to the mayor. We need to be a light to the rich just as we need to be a light to the poor. What does the waiter think of you if you complain about the food and don’t leave a tip? What does the homeless think of you if you make a comment to them that they need to get a job? What does the person who is a different ethnicity think of you if you make fun of their culture?
“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.”
< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />