Why People Do What They Do...

 

"I'll never understand why people do the things they do," remarked a friend recently, and immediately the Lord spoke to my heart the following:

We all do what we do because we each make a choice what kingdom we will represent.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words"? We can say whatever we think sounds good but when it all is said and done, what we have done reveals where our hearts are.

So a woman can say she loves the Lord and follows Jesus, but if she consistently disregards God's plan for her as a woman, or if she consistently yells at her children/siblings, or if she consistently dresses to reveal her body rather than cover it modestly, isn't that an indication of where her heart really is?

Or one can say they love Jesus and proclaim to follow Him, but if that one lives a life consistently opposite of Jesus' life, then what statement does that make?

If I say that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, then what I do will reflect Him. I do make mistakes and I do stumble as I go along, but my actions will reveal a heart that truly desires to do the right thing, and to honor Him in all that I speak and do. And as He writes more and more of His new name in my heart as I yield more and more of myself to Him, I will not continue to fall in the same old areas years after year, hopelessly falling down at the same old gopher hole from yesteryear. Praise God!

Why do people do what they do? Because we are either living in allegiance to satan, or are being changed from glory to glory as we walk in allegiance to the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Simple. Yet so muddied up and complicated by those who allow themselves to be used of the enemy to draw those two kingdoms closer to each other than they ever can be. One is black darkness, bondage and selfish living. The other is L.I.G.H.T and joy and peace and power in the Holy Spirit to crucify that old self and let a brand new identity in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, become a reflection of Him who was our Perfect Example in how to live and dwell on the Earth, yet reflect the heavenlies. It's black and white: not gray.

I could make it all complicated by saying that we do what we do because we have been hurt, or scared, or abused in some way...And I would be partially correct. BUT...the choice is mine. What I do with my life reveals where my heart is and who I give allegiance to. End of story. Amen.

Consider:

Joseph~ who used the experiences of his life to reveal his character more than it being necessary to build his character; he was a man of integrity before he ever was taken as a slave to Egypt, and  before he became the head servant over all his master's goods, and before his master's wife tempted him to sin, and before he was thrown into prison on false charges, and before he was made governor next to the Pharaoh of the most powerful nation in the world at that time.

By today's commonly accepted teachings (laced with psycho talk and worldy mixed religions) among those who name the name of Christ, Joseph should be a wounded, crippled, scar-sporting man who would be identified by the experiences/wounds he accumulated in life. This man should struggle with anger, bitterness, inability to socialize well, and certainly not take on a lot of responsibility because of all the issues  he has to deal with from all the sad experiences he had. He would be going to support groups and counseling offices to get help for the issues that stem from the hardships he faced. It makes me sick! (not to say that discipling one another through had times and good times isn't a good thing, because it is God's Way. I'm just saying that today, we have fewer Josephs than we should and could if we would just choose to fear and believe and follow God in entirety)

I think that Joseph's secret was that he feared God. I think he feared God before he ever went to Egypt. I think that his consistently God-glorifying choices reveal a heart that believed God no matter what. Did he have feelings of anger? Did he feel rejected? Did he feel tempted to be bitter and to retreat to a corner of the prison away from everyone else to nurse his wounds? I can be pretty sure he did because he was a human being the same as you and me. BUT...his actions reveal where his heart was. He obviously did not say yes to himself but to God.

Consider Daniel:

As a young man, he stood with his 3 friends against the foods that he knew would defile his body and make him sluggish and sickly, and thus not being productively honoring to the Lord. I admire these youth who made the choice to be different for God's sake no matter what. They could have lived in fear of men, thus stooping to compromise. But no, they stood up against the KING of Babylon! Who dares to do such things?! And later on in that same time period, the three friends stood up against him again, refusing to bow to the golden statue, worshiping only the One, true God. Daniel, too showed great integrity and fear of God by praying like he normally did, even in the face of the decree that went out forbidding him to do that very thing.

By today's standards, those young men would be considered by many in Christendom to be legalistic radicals who should have made their stand on something different like their rights or equality for all, or some other such thing. Instead, again I say these men feared God. They recognized that God had put them where they were and required of them a standard that they could accomplish if they called on His name.

And they were given exactly what they needed to fulfill the task His wisdom had assigned them.
And He was glorified, and is in fact, still being glorified to this very day (thousands of years later) by that account as people can still read it today.

I am ashamed of identifying with much of Christendom today. It is sickening to me how much of the world we have allowed into our beliefs and practices. It has brought the Body to a crippled, sickly state and I weep aloud that God would keep calling out those who are willing to stand up against all that garbage and be real in Christ alone.

Let's dare to be real in Christ, walking in the SIMPLICITY which is in Him.
I intend to keep turning my back on anything that is laced with lies. I cannot allow that garbage into my thinking to mar what beautiful simplicity Christ is. This makes me a strange person. I am aware of that. And I stand: unashamed of the Gospel of Christ, believing that it is the power of God unto salvation to as many as believe.

Let's be His willing servants, studious Bereans, obedient in all things without compromise. I am tired of bumping into so much of "you're ok, I'm ok" kind of stuff and fighting the urge to give assent to it because I am tired of standing against the winds of falsehoods that are whipping at an increasing rate of speed around us. My unredeemed body is tired; I get weary of the many winds of doctrine beating at my door. But I believe that in due season I shall reap if I faint not, by the power of the Holy Spirit sent to guide us into all truth. And I have run for refuge to the Wings of my Father God, where true shelter is found.

And I realize that this seems to be a random post whose end connects not to its beginning. Trust me. It does. "-)



 

Summarizing it all, I say:

*We are who we are because we choose who we are and how we live.
*Sometimes we blame others and their wrongs against us for why we are the way we are when the answer is our problem, not theirs.
*At some point in time, we have to own our own sin.
*Fearing God brings life into its proper perspective
(more of Him each day, less of me, please!)
*We have been given all things pertaining to life and godliness, including examples from 'way back before the Holy Spirit, the written Word, and other benefits like recorded sermons, etc were given!
*We can be all that God created us to be IF we stop standing in the way with our selfish insistence on nursing wounds and holding grudges.
*Truth is not always popular but it is always right. Who is on the Lord's side? Stand on Christ in truth.

God bless and keep you.
Marcia

PS...
Those who are true followers should join hands and step up to the plate and truly disciple others. Let's not sugarcoat the truth. We don't need to be rude to those who are struggling with fear, rejection, anger, pride, etc. But we must not just listen. We are obligated to 'teach all things that Jesus commanded'. We are far too silent in the interest of 'caring', thus not bringing people to complete victory and maturity.

Sorry if this is getting long winded. It has been on my heart a long, long time and after much observation, and learning in my own experience, I felt the need to write it down.

Go with God.