The ultimate standard of perfection
by R. Douglass Mahaffey
God created everything. There is nothing that exists that was not created by the one true, perfect God and for God's own purpose. God is governed only by Himself in His perfect form of morality. There is no power greater than the Creator of everything that "is." God is obligated to obey or bow to nothing and no one.
He created and controls us too. However, God did not create robots without souls or a free will. He desires fellowship with all of us, knowing that He will only get that from us when we want fellowship from Him as well. He is a gentleman and does not force His way into any one's life. That being said, how hard is it for us to understand that His standard should be our own as well?
There are too many people on this earth that believe and live by the standard of thinking that they are their own person. Any time a person is warned about the error of their ways and says that no one has the right to judge and condemn them but God, they are at least acknowledging that God exists and has a standard. Therefore, by their own admission, they are saying that they are guilty of the law (not living by the standard that God gave them to live by).
There is a huge difference between a Christian condemning them with a judgmental attitude and telling them a better way (God's way) to live their life because they are concerned with their well being, as well as their eternal life.
So why does the sinful person get defensive when a brother or sister of the faith calls out something that they know they have done wrong? Are they comfortable in their sin perhaps? When they accepted Jesus as Lord of their life, did they do it in vain, not intending to change the way they lived, but make heaven by the skin of their teeth? Do they subscribe to the ideology that there are different levels of heaven, and they are willing to settle for a cottage if it means that they can escape hell? Are they having so much fun in their season of sin that they would risk hell for the flimsy pleasures of this dying earth? God is no respecter of person and we will all be judged according to the same standard!
I am talking to the believer here, not the lost. I am talking to those who have prayed the sinner's prayer and asked God to come into their heart and save them from their sins. Did it end with forgiveness of sin? Not even close. We have an obligation to read God's word, find out what His will for our lives is and live by that standard. I'm not talking about a person's destiny with God either, I mean His will for their lives. I'm talking about the absolute standard that when we get out of line and go our own way, that we question our own salvation to the point that we realized we have offended God and would give life or limb to make that right.
I was in downtown Houston one day and was on my way to an ice rink to play what we called "drop-in hockey." I was on the number 2 Metro bus headed to Sharpstown Ice Center. A homeless man got on the bus and was looked down upon by most of the passengers on the bus. He smelled bad and was wearing ragged, torn clothes. The people immediately close to where he sat down at, got up and sat somewhere else, making fun of him. We were approaching the Salvation Army when the man pulled the cord to signal for the driver to stop.
As he was stepping down, a man in the back yelled, "I hope that place has a shower for you!"
The man tripped as he was stepping off the bus. I was furious at how these people of far more privilege were treating this man who had nothing (in most estimations) but the clothes on his back. I got off the bus with him, approached him and offered him $10. I had plenty, and wanted to help. He told me that he had enough money for the stay at the Salvation Army, however, he had something much more valuable to offer me.
He asked me if I was a child of God's.
I said, "Yes, I go to Langwood Baptist Church in Houston. I am in the choir and I serve as a youth sponsor. I am also on the planning committee for church events."
(I, I, I, I, ME, MY, I! Who cares?)
He replied with, "That's not what I asked you. Have you come to the point in your life where you realized your sin offends God?"
No one had ever asked me that before. I was quite proud of the fact that for years, (since I was nine) I was the only person in my family that had darkened the door of a church in almost 11 years. I had defied the odds and stayed in when most wouldn't. Good for me, but he had now posed a question that I had never even considered or thought mattered, until now.
He began to tell me that he used to be an executive for a booming business in Atlanta, was on the school board, and even taught a Sunday School class at his church. "So what," he replied, "None of that mattered when stacked beside a relationship with God, the Father."
He told me that because of how empty he felt in his life, even though he had position, respect, money and responsibility, he was still empty and searching. He turned to drugs, alcohol, sex, and any other vice that he thought would help heal the hole in his heart because there was no relationship with Jesus.
I began to relate. I knew that empty feeling of putting myself out there for my church and not being thanked or appreciated for my troubles, because at the time, I thought it was all about me. It is NEVER about you or me, but about pleasing God and remaining in His standard.
The man's name was Don White, and he showed me through scripture that as a luke warm "Christian" (which by the way is a huge oxymoron) that God would sooner spit me out of His mouth than allow me to enter into His glory. I began that day, seeking ways to please God and minister to others in His name. Not because this man judged or condemned me, but because he saw my compassion for him and so he returned that compassion for me and my eternity. And you know what? He never once made me feel judged or condemned. That's because he did what he did and he said what he said with love. That's how it was received.
R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.
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