The right thing
- The Rev. Jamey Russell
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Hello Saints,
I wanted to share a conversation I had with a few friends recently. We were discussion the frustration of being a Christian and yet finding that we often still fail and fall in the same old ways. Someone asked the question "Well, what is our strongest weapon against temptation? What is the best way to fight the enemy?" Lots of good answers were given: the Word, prayer, confession, etc. Then someone suggested we read 1 Corinthains 13.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
You have probably heard this read at most of the weddings you've been to. It was certainly read at mine! Though it is a beautiful description of how we want love to function in marriage, Paul is talking actually, about love for all others. Indeed, He is talking about God. After all, "God is love."
Why was this brought up? Basically, because almost all sin is about self-centeredness. I'm not talking about self-care, but about unhealthily putting oneself above others. The love we see from Jesus is outwardly focused and humble. Not only that, it's about action as much as feeling. We know the love of God because we can look at what he has done, primarily on the cross.
The whole conversation brought me back to what a wise friend told me a long time ago. "Whenever you find yourself in bad thinking, like temptation, resentment, anger, fear, and the like, just start doing things for other people. Your brain will figure it out." In other words, the best way to resist temptation isn't by just focusing on what NOT to do. Instead, focus on the next right thing we can do while remembering that the grace of God is always greater than the mistakes we make along the way.
Yours in Christ,
Jamey +
Prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is error, truth; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may seek not so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Song: So one of my favorite artists, Anna Palfreeman, has released some new songs. The one below fits well with my thoughts above.
Spotify Link:
YouTube Link:
