Lately I have had a sense of hearing people say the things that they want to do, be it, be closer to God, being real and intentional about the way they feel about people, actually going out and bettering yourself, or any other thing. The big thing that has been happening is people aren't acting out the things that they want to do, or that they say they're are about.
We have all probably heard the phrase, "Be true to yourself". I think that this phrase speaks more than most people want to take it, because a lot of people only see it has stand up for the things that you believe in, and while this is true, I think that there is more to it than that. I also think it means that you have to act out what you say. Another way of saying what I'm trying to say is, don't just talk the talk. You also gotta walk the walk.
The biggest reason that I am writing about this is the sole fact that someone I know pretty well has said that he is a follower of Christ, but he has done nothing to actually show, and the only reason that you do things to show that you are a follower of Christ is because that the love that you have for Him overflows, and you can't help but to want to do things to serve Him. He says he wants to better himself, and that he's going to change, but day after day that I get to see him, the only thing that has changed is the thing he does that isn't what he says he wants to do. I do believe totally that this is a direct result of the lack of spending time with the Lord to really get an accurate picture of who Jesus is, and how He lived.
A few other reasons I am here right now is because there are many times in my life where I say I wanna be better at something, be it soccer, football, school, or any other thing that I may take part of, but I simply do not make a conscious effort to do anything about it. This is a message to myself, and anyone else who has seen that people aren't actually doing what they say that want to do, or aren't really about what they say they are.
The first thing I can really say to those like this is MAN UP! Most of the people who will read this and are in this boat will be about my age or older, so all I can say is it's time to start acting like it. When you're around the age of 17 or older is about time that you started to act out what you believe in, and what you say.
To those of you who may be struggling with the fact that you are a follower, but you aren't really showing it, Christ has called you out on this. In the verse Revelation 3:16, God says "So because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." God is telling us that because we aren't exactly living out the life that we should, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He will ask us if we knew Him, and though we say yes, our actions won't say it, and He will say "Away from me, for I never knew you" This is a serious call to say that we can't just say it, we must be it.
To those who are looking to better themselves in some way, the first thing you really need to look at is do you really NEED to better yourself? Or should you just be happy with the way you are, since you are the way you are for a reason. The second is, are you willing to work? Nothing ever comes without something being sacrificed. In order to lose weight, one must sacrifice bad eating habits for good ones; time spent watching television for working out, or running/walking; other sedentary things that won't help you. For those who want to be stronger physically, they must sacrifice a lot of time from doing other things like hanging out with friends, or video games for time spent in the gym, and doing other things that will benefit you and the sedentary lifestyle which they may live that makes it hard for them to have the motivation or energy to work out.. The term, "you reap what you sow" fits here. You get out of it what you put in.
To those who say they want to be nicer to more people, or they want to start getting to know someone, or they want to mend a broken relationship, I would say the first thing is, do you think this friendship will help you? Or will it just end up hurting you in the long run? After that, the hardest part about all this stuff is fear. The initial fear of meeting new people is a fright everyone in life takes part in. Being a Wyld Life leader, I have this fear arise each and every day. Because the 8th graders are in my school this year, I have a lot of time that I could spend meeting people, and I must confess that I haven't been intentional about that. It's hard to meet new kids and earn their trust. With that girl or guy in the hall, that fear you get that you may be rejected off the bat is a common one for many people. The butterflies that sit in your stomach cause for whatever reason you thought swallowing a butterfly whole was a good idea, start to get to you, and you can't bring yourself to beat them. We all go through it once in a while, but there gets to be a time where you have to ask yourself if you ever really wanted to chase that relationship. There is a time where you have to buckle down, and just go for it. Chances are the leap of faith that you take will get you to your desired destination, and even if it doesn't, you've gone and made yourself a new friend.
One thing that I personally have been going through is I keep saying that I am going to make my grades better. I keep having that goal of getting the A, B honor roll, or some crazy thing like that. My problem is, I don't do anything to earn it. I have this weird thing in my mind that says "I think, therefore it is." Which can be a really destructive way to live your life. IF you go through life thinking that you want to make yourself better, or thinking that you are going to talk to that girl in the hall, or thinking that you are going to start being intentional about your relationships, be it with Christ or another person, but you do nothing to really make it happen, all you are really doing is cheating yourself out of a great life. I need to stop thinking that just because I think I'm going to make good grades, that it will actually happen. I need to put in some work, which requires sacrifices all over my life. I need to take time away from facebook, or even sports, or something like that, and use that time to go into doing my homework, to give me that practice that I need to be able to do the things right. I need to take away from the staying up for all hours of the night for getting better sleep habits because if I keep doing things the way I do now, I'll be screwed next year. Pray that the Lord would instill in me, a work ethic that doesn't lead to disaster, and that I would be intentional about working towards it.
I hope this may inspire you to be real about things, take some risks in your life.
I love you guys
TJ
No comments:
Post a Comment