BY Argie Simonis
In yesterday's message we talked about the importance of character and the motivations behind our actions. Today we will examine the character that the Lord calls us to shape according to the mind of Christ that we have:
"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ." 1Cor. 2:14-16
How could I give all my goods to feed the poor and at the same time not have love, as Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 13:3?
We don't have to wonder, because we have a perfect example in Acts chapter 5 with the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Before I do any comments on it, let's read a little from chapter 4:
"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made to every man according as he had need.
And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet." Acts 4:34-37
We see how that true love was demonstrated as the believers sold land and possessions and gave the money to the apostles to be distributed and meet the needs of everyone.
Ananias and Sapphira then sold a piece of their own property and pretended to give the entire amount to the church (Acts 5:1-11). Their motive was to receive the praise of men, and this is what brought immediate judgment from God. Hypocrisy exists when people do something pretending to please God or help others, when in reality they are serving their own desire for recognition and fame.
Do you want to know what is this character of Christ that the Lord calls us to have? Let's continue reading from 1 Corinthians 13:
"Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love braggs not itself, is not puffed up,
Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;"
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1Cor. 13:4-7
These verses we read teach us 2 main lessons:
1. It is impossible to do all this in our own strength and especially "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things", except with the help of God:
"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zach. 4:6
2. This scripture is the list that contains the best method of evaluating our character. Imagine how different the world would be today if more weight was given to this method of evaluation over that of performance.
We tend to want to do something for God, but the Bible teaches us not to despise the little things:
"For who has despised the day of small things?" Zechariah 4:10
In other words, don't despise doing small acts of kindness daily. The accumulation of these small acts of kindness is what "sharpens" us, forms the mind of Christ in our character and brings true and continuous happiness into our lives:
"If you know these things, happy are you if you do them." John 13:17
In other words, we must first know the principles of love and its expressions and then apply them in our daily life. With God's help we can change the whole world and this change begins from within us.
Amen 🙏
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