A Call for Repentance - Day 18: Lord forgive me for putting off doing what I know I should do.

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever noticed that sometimes we end up belaboring or bloviating about what we should do, instead of actually doing it? It’s as though we feel that talking about it will take the place of doing something about it. The fact is, just talking about something you know you need to do, without doing it, actually makes doing something about the needed change or behavior, less likely to happen.

When I was in high school, there was a day our teacher just didn’t show up, leaving us to our own devices. Some of my classmates decided to have a “lemon-squeezing” session. Now, what this basically offers is the opportunity (excuse) to say hurtful things you want to say, under the guise of “lemon-squeezing.”

On this fateful day, one of my friends, when it came time for me to taste the juice of a sour lemon said, “Mushegan (I was often referenced by my last name), you’re always talking about being on a diet, but you never lose weight.” Ouch! She was speaking something I already knew to be the truth. What I didn’t know was how my behavior was perceived.

The truth is, I WAS always on some form of a diet, but ended up “feasting and fasting” so that I never realized any significant (noticeable) weight loss.

That having been said, I realize now that I was talking about being on a diet because I thought it would somehow make my being fat more acceptable. I apparently thought that talking about dieting would make people see me as in a process of not being fat anymore.

If we are being honest, we all have things we know we need to do, yet haven’t acted on it in any meaningful way. Perhaps we’ve tried to deal with that conundrum by talking about what we need to do. Or, to the other extreme, by living in denial of our failing.

Some people in this situation even become highly critical of those who are doing worse than they are. (To that point, some of my meanest tormentors were, themselves, overweight.)

Some become highly critical of those who are doing what they should be doing, even assigning bad motivations for their doing what we should be doing.

As well, some, when facing a discrepancy between what they should be doing and what they are actually doing, find ways to either dismiss the failing as not being objectionable, or making themselves a special case, not needing to comply.

Child of God, you understand that my example here (not losing weight), probably doesn’t come with eternal consequences.

However, not doing what we should do in terms of our relationship with God, can have eternal consequences, as well as bringing devastating results in this life.

Rather than beating yourself over the head about what you are not doing in terms of God’s standard, repent and ask Him to help you to do what He requires.

Remember, the Lord has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us to do what we need to do.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#callforrepentance

#resolveforhim