WHO ARE YOU IMITATING?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.
Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who
does what is evil has not seen God.
(3 John 11)

MEDITATION:
We have all heard the phrase, “Dumbing down of America”.
It means we are lowering the overachievers to the level of
underachievers, instead of coaching and encouraging the
underachievers to excel.

This is an indication that we are living in an upside-down
world, isn’t it? From a believer’s viewpoint the world is
trying to “evil-down” America.

There is hate, when there should be love.
There are arguments, when there should be friendliness.
There are fights (and gunshots), when there should be peace.
There is stealing, when there should be sharing.
People are being hurt, when they should be encouraged.

We have been introduced to ‘political correctness’
which, as a respected Christian city mayor once said,
    “…is an excuse to take control of our hearts and minds”.

God created us with a freewill to make choices, but unfortunately
some are allowing the influences of the wrong people to cause them
to make bad choices. When we do that, we not only miss out on the
good things God has available for us, but we also have a negative
impact on those around us.

Think about this – the disciples were misfits in their world. Why?
Because they didn’t fit in with the thinking of those around them.
A right-side up person, appears upside down, to an upside-down
person. Worldly people (sinners) view righteous people (Christians)
as an oddity, and an abnormality of society.

There is a reason for that type of thinking. A Christian’s goodness
is considered as a rebuke to the wicked and unsaved. The believer’s
right-side up position appears inverted to a world that is upside-down.
As believers, we should be focused on goodness, while living in a world
that is focused on evil.

Look at the chilling words in John 3:
    Anyone who does what is good is from God.
    Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
The things we do (or don’t do) reflects our relationship with God.
When the scriptures say, “has not seen God”, it means we do not
belong to Him and consequently have no relationship with Him.

ACTION:
Some questions we should ask ourselves:
    – How do I fit into this world?
    – Do I ‘go with the flow’ of those with the wrong focus?
    – Is my desire to be in the world’s mainstream, or God’s?
    – Do I easily follow the worldly standards, or do I ‘bow my neck’
       and reject the things of the world in favor of putting God first?
    – Do I sincerely believe in God and want to fellowship with Him?
    – Am I caught up in myself so much that I don’t have time for God?
    – Do I believe there is a heaven and a final judgment for mankind?
    – When I evaluate my life, can I expect to hear the Lord to say to me,
               “Well done, good and faithful servant”
           or will I hear Him say to me,
               “Depart from me, I never knew you”

God expects Christians to ‘do what is good’, and not
to ‘do what is evil’. We shouldn’t measure ‘evil’ by
the worldly standards, but by God’s standards. He
is the One we should be trying to ‘imitate’.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, Your goodness is unfathomable to the world.
Those who don’t know You will try to influence others to disavow
their knowledge of You. I realize that my allegiance needs to be to
You, and not to the world. Help me to remember that when I gave
my life to You, I was expressing my desire to ‘do good’ and not to
‘do evil’. Remind me that friendliness with the world puts me at
enmity with You. Let me never compromise my stand for You, Jesus
(You gave Your sinless life for me). Today, I ask You to seize control of
my thoughts, my words, and my actions so I can imitate what is good.”

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