Looking into the mirrored bean at Chicago’s Millennium Park
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Regardless of any outcome, the ethics you use are up to you.
Guess that means no back-stabbing, hair-pulling or screaming ‘you started it’!!! Grrrr…. (I’m such a girl!!)
Last week’s blog post was about praising God no matter what happens or what situations we currently find ourselves in. Praising God is being obedient to God. It’s NOT a feeling we may have on a whim and then do because we are getting our way and are happy with what’s going on in our lives.
God ALWAYS deserves our praise because He is God.
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11
I think we covered that pretty good last week – praise God through all things! Yep, got it!!
So…now I want to take it a step further and talk about our ethics and the moral principles we abide by because this correlates to our relationship with God and to our desire to praise Him! Funny how that happens!!
It seems kind of hard to want to talk to God regularly if we are not doing what He wants us to. And we sure don’t want to praise Him if we are keeping all the praise for ourselves!!! Hmmmm….
Our personal every day ethics are what define us when no one is looking. True character is what WE see when we look in the mirror and all the beauty solutions and well-laid cover-ups have been stripped away.
What is left? Do you like what you see? Is the person in the mirror the same person you show everyone else? Are you a chameleon and change your colors depending on who you are with? Are you easily swayed or are you steady in living out Godly morals and values?
Those are some tough questions. The truth is that we might be able to fool others and we might even be able to fool ourselves, but there is no fooling God. Sigh.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1Samuel 16:7
We can blame no one but ourselves when it comes to who we see in the mirror. That stupid mirror exposes our flaws, our lies, our facades, and our TRUTH! We are who we are because of the choices we make and the attitude we choose…no one can blacken our hearts…but us!
Additionally, we might find ourselves in situations where we are not in control of the outcome due to other’s choices, deception, inaccuracy, or mistakes.
Other people’s actions don’t count towards our obedience to God by walking the righteous path and continuing to be ethical, honorable, conscientious and respectable in any circumstance!!!
Just because life isn’t fair doesn’t mean we have an excuse to act any different than what God has called us to do. That includes letting go of bitterness, self-righteousness and resentment!!!
God says to love your neighbor (see Mark 12:31)…not just the good ones…ALL OF THEM. He says to love as He has loved us (see John 13:34). Well, that means forgiving and blessing others even when they don’t deserve it. (But, but, but, but!)
Obviously, we are human and we will make mistakes along the way. Not trying in the first place is not an option. Try, try and try some more.
And when we do fail to be the person God created us to be – well, step back, ask for forgiveness and change our ways. It’s simple, not easy, but oh, so worth it!
What do you see when you look in the mirror?
Some Wisdom for Today: Proverbs 10:9 – Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
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