I appreciate your comments from yesterday. I agree with most of what was said. Just on principle I disagree with anything Greg or Brady says but sometimes they leave me no choice but to agree. I think Brad made a very astute observation regarding the proportion of our love. Here, at least for me, is the difficult application.
Scroll through Matthew 5 and you begin to see the challenge of loving God more than yourself. Pay attention to the words of Jesus and you begin to understand the sheer magnitude of loving others as you would love yourself. Skip ahead to 7:12 and we learn the most important rule is "do to others what you want them to do to you."
When Jesus talks about anger, sexual sin, divorce, lying, retaliation, revenge and animosity he does so with three relationships in mind. Personal involvement and experience in these eight things (yes, there are others but I’m just trying to get a grasp on this one chapter!) damages my relationship with God. These attitudes, actions and experiences pollute me and this spiritual pollution keeps me away from an unpolluted God.
This pollution also damages me. God’s desire for intimacy and holiness has as much to do with his relationship with me as it does with my own personal, spiritual well being; not to mention the actual physical and emotional side effects.
This pollution also damages those around me. The pursuit of each of these eight things are never solitary experiences. They, without exception, find a way to damage those around me.
Every single one of these attitudes and actions are expressed because I choose me. It seems the most consistent choice I make is me and though it appeals to my selfish nature it is no way to live. Redemption gives me the chance to pursue what’s good for God and me, to pursue what’s good for you and me.
