I had originally planned on writing this post at least two weeks ago. And if anyone is reading this blog besides me and God, I am sorry for my tardiness. Nevertheless, I have learned a good lesson about myself. I have learned that unless I feel good about myself, I have no motivation to write. Without going into great detail, I have not felt like I am living a Godly life lately.
Now there are several things wrong with the “not living a Godly life” statement, and I probably will not be able to cover all of them. One of the most obvious things wrong with the statement is this: who am I to judge whether I am living a Godly life? People can be very judgmental (I wrote about it in my first post). While I was not being judgmental towards other people, I was being judgmental towards myself, which can be just as destructive. You see, I did not feel worthy enough to write about God. I did not feel like I was setting a good enough example. I did not want to be one of those people who “talked the talk” but could not walk the walk.
Well, there is Good News, literally and figuratively. Jesus is the only person who could talk the talk and walk the walk. If you have ever not gone to church because you did not feel worthy enough to be there……GO. Why? Because there is not a person in that church who is “worthy” enough to be there. Even though I forget it myself, I cannot emphasize it enough. No one is perfect.
If you are thinking ahead, a paradox or a gray area is coming. As Christ followers, we are supposed to act like Jesus. The paradox is this: we are supposed follow an example that can never be duplicated. It is truly an unattainable goal, but we are supposed to try. We are supposed to follow Jesus’ example so that our example will change the world. Lofty goal, huh?
Okay. Now I will try to answer the question: How do I live (or more precisely, try to live) a Godly life? Open the Bible and read Matthew. It is about two-thirds of the way through the Bible. It is the story of Jesus’ life told by a lowly tax collector (back then tax collectors were about as popular as a salt shaker in a snail convention). Follow the example set by Jesus.