Friday Reading: Philippians 4:1-9
Key Verse: Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things.
Devotion:
Sometimes it takes a harsh word from someone to make you stop and think about what you are doing whilst other times you can be reminded through very simple and kind words. We all like to be able to please others and we probably do what we can in order to make as many people happy as possible, but as long as we are trying to please some people we are most assuredly going to upset others. The choice of what we do should not be to try to make as many people as happy as possible but rather to do that which is right in God’s eyes.
The choice of words in this letter was very simple but hopefully made a huge impact on the people concerned as they read it. I know that simple words work because I too have been there. It is not a case of making choices to try to keep as many people happy as possible because that will never work. If we do really want to keep people happy then we have to tell them the truth and that truth may well hurt sometimes. The truth is what is going to allow people to see that God is the most important in our lives and not people’s feelings.
How many times did Moses get himself into deep water by trying to keep the people happy when God was telling him to do something? We see this echoed throughout history and all the way through our bibles – that man gives in to human emotions and feelings and loses sight of the focus that God wants from us. It may be a small phrase that is used “be of the same mind in the Lord” but it is something that we need to strive to achieve. The only way we can truly do that is by making sure that we stick to what we know is the truth, and that has got to be God’s own Word.
Points to Ponder:
Do you upset people?
Are you upsetting God?