Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,do all to the glory of God —1 Corinthians 10:31
Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of spiritual pride. We must be careful, for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher . . .” ( Matthew 10:24 ).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
Make a determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.
********************************************************
JD This may be the best place to write our initial impressions. Just write in the edit panel. This would be the equivalent of having the facing page left blank for journalling , which would not be too bad an idea for any devo book. KISS.
…..this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are…... This was the kicker for me today. I find myself judging people that I meet. Like at this travel convention, I notice that many people complain a lot. It’s a narrow line between just observing that from the balcony….. and judging them or looking down on them. I think we are on the right track to just “accept without complaint” AND WITHOUT JUDGEMENT. They just are how they are, God has allowed me to see it for what it is. So just leave it alone. Certainly dont want to get like the Pharisee who said, “Oh God, thank you that I’m not like that sinner…..”
I can actually feel it and catch myself when I have a judging thought. Thank you Lord that the dashboard is still working. I’ll keep bringing that nasty piece of carnality to the cross where it belongs. Thanks…..DJR
Click Image for John White's Original Vision For CO2's
