Our piccadilly attitudes and unguarded moments… 1
Being nice to others
… not just with “social justice”, but with that cranky neighbor….
Amos 5:24; Proverbs 21:15; Isaiah 1:17; Micah 6:8; Isaiah 30:18
Day 1 snapshot from the Stephen Mattson book, On Love & Mercy:
I tend to be picky about being nice to others. If they are nice, I’m nice. That’s easy (well, relatively easy).
It’s the not-so-nice individual that is difficult to be nice towards. That’s hard.
So I struggle with this: I battle fickle piccadilly moments, where I bend my ethic and accept tiny “small sins”.
I often react on-the-spot, on-the-fly, without filters. And so I act-out poorly.
What do I need – in order to be nice to difficult people… every time? This helps me:
1. I must acknowledge that “agape love” is not picky, not selective. That’s the love I want in me. Then… my love towards others is always on. So whenever I’m “on”, my love is “on”… to whomever I meet, with whatever situation, or whatever the circumstance. Whoever it is, my love is “on”.
I really can’t just pick and choose who to be nice to, who to love, or not. After all, Jesus would never have come down to earth to save any one of us — thinking like that. We all were condemned sinners when He volunteered to die for us.
Romans 5:8
“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2. I must start my day “on”. That means aligning myself afresh with God. Daily I have to guard my soul carefully. Nobody else will do it! I have to. Put it on. Living daily with gentleness and respect — is not automatic for any of us.
Put it on
let it become natural to you…
all that His Holy Spirit enables
in your new life in Christ…
Me – getting up another day, praying…
I don’t do frenetic. I don’t do worry. I don’t let it in. I don’t start my day all out of kilter, out of whack. I refuse to stumble into my day.
In the morning when my mind wakes up, before I get up, that’s the time I start my attitude. Before a good cup ‘a Joe 2, I pray. I think a few thoughts – to my Father God. Not a long prayer, not a lot of words (It’s 5am!) – just a few to set my mind on High.
– Source: Before a good cup a Joe
I can stand strong, strong enough to “[successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-18…verse 11).
The Spirit enables us. So I say… bring it on! 3 See: 1 Corinthians 10:13.
What is needed, Paul says, is to: personally unite yourself with God, and “draw your strength from Him“(verse 10 of Ephesians 6:10-18).
(Well, but, of course, first you do need to get saved: confess-repent-give your all to Jesus. That is the most important part.) Have you been changed into new life by Christ?
– Source: Yes I can – I can stand strong
Listen and Sing: I’ve been changed,
I won’t go back
– YouTube. Artist William McDowell
“…honoring and staying present with Lord Jesus and God every moment” – commenter David Wilson
New Life.
Christians have been given new life in Christ. The world sings “I’m only human after all”. Not so for us. We are no longer the same, no longer “just human”, after all.
“Since I am born again
into a new life in Christ,
I’m not only human, after all.
Never again.
Through Christ I am now a new creation of God, and He, by the Holy Spirit, has a special place inside my soul. Like no other “god” could have done, He made my spirit alive so that now I am free from His condemnation and I am no longer a slave to sin. (Romans 6:6; John 8:34)”
– Source: The well-guarded soul
We are inhumanly strong
Don’t underestimate what you can do, how strong you are.
We are indwelt by God Himself – by His Holy Spirit. He is in us. Therefore we are powerful. Really, really powerful. Not we, in our own strenth. But in Him. I am truly “enough” to meet the challenges, because I have been made a new creation, a powerful new creation with the Spirit of God residing in me.
– Source: Yes I can – I can stand strong
“In Christ I am enough. I’ve got it all, nothing needed, nothing missing. I am ready, steady and able because God Himself made me more than human, after all.
I have everything needed, in me, to live a godly life — because of the power of God in me… since that moment in time that God Himself made me a brand new creature inside. Same outside, new inside, for now, in my inner soul, the Holy Spirit resides in me in power. That is what happens to those who truly accept Jesus as their Savior.”
– Source: I am enough
Galatians 6:9-10
9 Let us not grow weary
or become discouraged
in doing good,
for at the proper time
we will reap, if we do not give in.
10 So then, while we [as individual believers]
have the opportunity,
let us do good to all people
[not only being helpful,
but also doing
that which promotes their spiritual well-being],
and especially [be a blessing]
to those of the household of faith
(born-again believers).
Those who despise sacred things
Matthew advises us: Do not give holy matters to dogs, nor throw your sacred pearls to pigs. “Dogs and pigs” here refer to individuals who despise sacred things (see BibleGate Footnote for Matthew 7:6)
Matthew 7:6
“Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
BibleGate Footnote for Matthew 7:6 says:
In this verse “dogs” and “pigs” represent those who despise sacred things.
However, our love streaming from inside our insides should know no limits, no specificities, no discriminations. It needs no forethought. Love comes out of our soul which has been cleansed – multiple times ever day. How’s your soul cleansing doing today?
Read Psalm 51. Wash me. Cleanse me.
So, every day I wake up:
I start most every day something like this: I get on up and get on High. I’m lifted up. I start my day with God in prayer – just me and God in the cavern of my head. Creator God is everywhere. Nowhere that He’s not. And He’s in my head. He knows my thoughts. My thoughts, an open gateway to my soul, for God.
I think my thoughts to Him “in prayer”. No one hears me, but God Himself. He even knows what I’m about to say. Oh mysterious, sacred God that lives inside my eternal soul. (John 14:17; John 16:7) I know, ’cause that is what He tells us in His Word.
– Source: Before a good cup a Joe
That’s how I’m doin’ it. I must say, I’m a fool at times, an angry man at times, foot-in-mouth sometimes… unwise. But I’m a’ workin’ more on myself. How ’bout you? I make it a point to work with God as He works in me… non-stop.
We should keep in mind that Road Sign: God is at work up ahead. It applies to my life also.
FOR MORE:
What is Agape Love? (And What Does it Mean for Me?)
Living daily with gentleness and respect
If I were to let sin reign in my body
Yes I can – I can stand strong
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
Road Sign: God is at work up ahead
(I know, with my parting words I said “I’m a working moron myself”. Aren’t we all! )
Footnotes
- piccadilly refers to a whimsical attitude, like the hippies of the 60-7o’s, being fast-and-loose with any code of ethics, where one feels free to “do your own thing”, be free and easy to violate ethics or Christian conduct. Similar to “peccadillo” – “derived from the diminutive of the Spanish language word “pecado” meaning sin”, or as a diminutive meaning “just a little sin”.
- optional mood music video. Artist: Marcus Anderson. Featured Artist: Matt Marshak).
- “God is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) And He promises that nothing will come our way which is too big for us to handle. We can stand up against it — or else He will provide a way of escape. Do not fear, I will help you (Isaiah 41:13)
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