How do you get ready?

To get ready we might; get washed, dressed, sort out our hair, brush teeth, maybe put on a bit of make up. Then we feel like we are ready to face the day - but are we really? Are these practical steps really getting ourselves ready for the day?

I ask this because I read the following passage the other day, and thought about how we prepare for each day we face. i notice how we tend to focus on the appearance we give to those around us everyday. I mean, my start to the day consists of; walking the dog, getting dressed, brushing my teeth, doing my hair, preparing the kids for school and getting lunch sorted. The normal, everyday things, then, practically, I am feeling ready for the day ahead, or at least ready to leave the house! How else are we meant to prepare what the day will bring us?

'Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear— 4but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious'
1 Peter 3:3–4.

It seems, from reading this passage that we could be in danger of spending too much time adorning ourselves, and not enough time preparing ourselves. Are you concerned about what you wear? What you look like? Or are you more aware of ‘the hidden person of the heart’?

This piece of scripture encourages us not to focus on our outward appearance for our source of beauty, but to focus on character first. The hidden person the heart needs to be ready for the day ahead, as well as your body and face. Please note, this passage is NOT saying that looking good is a bad thing. We all usually feel a bit better about ourselves when we are content with what we look like, but I do think this passage is challenging us on how much investment we put on what is external.

Do you concern yourself as much with the person people are coming into contact with each day as the face people will see? Do you consider getting your heart, mind and character ready?

The reality is that people may remember a face for a moment, but the impact of a gentle and quiet spirit can last a lifetime. Making sure our hearts are ready to embrace the world is an important way to get ready, making sure our minds are quiet and not disturbed. Can you imagine what your family might be like, your workplace, your community, if everyone spent as much time preparing their hearts and minds as they did their outward appearance?

If everyone made a conscious effort to be adorned with a gentle and quiet spirit what a different world we would live in!  We can make a start at changing the world around us by making sure that we are displaying the ‘imperishable beauty’ that God has given us.

So, maybe as you get ready tomorrow, ask yourself;
How are you going to demonstrate the, ‘imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit’?
How are you going to invest in the hidden person of the heart more than your external appearance?

Walk Worthy

Today I have been reading Ephesians 4 which starts by encouraging us to 'walk in a manner worthy of the calling', and then lists several things that this incorporates. I noticed how each personal quality builds on the previous one. So, if we are to 'walk worthy', maybe we should consider each quality, what they mean for us and what is God showing us to work on in our lives? Where is God stretching us right now?

So, lets look at the personal qualities mentioned in this passage.

First off we have, Humility - a virtue by which a person knows themselves as they truly are. Often we can think of humility as considering ourselves as lesser than others. But this is not in the sense of putting yourself down or considering yourself lower than anyone/everyone else. It's a fair, just judgement of yourself. You are even allowed to say what you're good at. Humility is also the ability to recognise where we struggle or where we lack. We are designed to work in conjunction with others so it's alright to admit our weaknesses too. 

I think everyone struggles with either of these two elements, we are either too hard on ourselves, or we think way too much of ourselves (pride). True humility is a balance, it's hard to get right, but we can get better. How can we work in unity with others, as it speaks about in the book of Ephesians, if we don't really know ourselves, beat ourselves up or are full of selfish pride?

Next up is; Gentleness. Mild mannered, soft, kind and sensitive. To be truly gentle, we need first to be humble. We will find it difficult to be truly gentle with others if we are harsh with or think too highly of ourselves. 

Gentleness means that we each need to manage our temper. Learn to control your anger, get rid of resentment and tame our tongues so we are not harsh. We need to overcome the fierceness of our nature in order to be gentle. Gentleness requires a meekness, a willingness to listen and love with an open heart in order to provide a place of safety for others. No harsh words or outbursts, but a soft and sensitive leading to the greater love that we know is available in God.

After gentleness we have patience. Ahhh, patience or having forbearance as it's sometimes called. To tolerate problems, delay and even suffering without becoming annoyed. 

ooohhhh, waiting - no one likes waiting, or problems or suffering, but it's necessary in order to 'walk worthy'.

In order to achieve this we have to overcome the fierceness of our nature to become gentle first. Then, with God's assistance we can gain some patience!

Why do we even need patience? Well, part of patience is waiting without complaint, and no-one likes a complainer (although we probably all know one!) In life we may have to wait for some things, we may have to suffer and we will have problems - so, how do you handle it? 

Do you ask God to get you out asap? Or do you look for the lessons we are learning?

James 1:2 says, 'count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it's full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing'. 

Part of the christian life is the striving to become more like the perfect saviour that we know and love, Jesus. So, let us persue patience, because it matters. It declares something to the world about who we are. Faith may be tested, but what do you want to stand for and learn from those experiences? 

Bearing with one another in love. To do this effectively we need to be humble - laying aside ourselves, gentle - able to moderate ourselves, and full of patience - the ability to wait without anxiety or annoyance. 

Bearing with one another in love. Let's face it, we all make mistakes. We all at some point rub each other up the wrong way and stuff up. 

How do we get past that? 

Well, first thing we need to do is to look at ourselves, make a fair judgement of how we are, how we feel and deal with what's happening within us. Then we can approach others with an attitude of gentleness and patience. 

Learning to forgive and even overlook some things will be necessary. Watch how you speak about others, how do you talk about christians with different viewpoints or the person who lied or cheated you? 

Do you weigh them with the same scales as you weigh yourself? 

We all make mistakes, we all get things wrong, how would you like to be treated if you made the same mistakes?

Once we have understood and got these things, these wonderful qualities; humility, gentleness, patience and we are bearing one another in love, then we can maintain unity. 

WOW!

We can live in harmony with one another, but we need to get these things in place first. If this is something we truly desire, to live in peace with others in order to demonstrate God's glory, then we have work to do! 

Maybe you need to recognise and repent for some of the things you know are troubling you. 

God is available, He'll listen to you and forgive you. 

It may be that you need to go back and do this a few times, that's ok, God has unending patience - I know, He deals with me every day! 

Gradually, if you trust God to help you make some changes in order to succeed in these qualities, He will be faithful and you will see how your character develops. 

It may be that the things that really irritate you don't seem so bad after all, or you're able to manage the 'complainer' without feeling down. 

Others around you may not see a radical change, but you will feel it, and you will begin to understand what it is to have peace.