“If
you search for good, you will find favor; but if
you search for evil, it
will find you!”—Proverbs
11:27 (NLT).
We can
read the Bible cover-to-cover many times but never recall every scripture.
However, the Holy Spirit brings the perfect one to mind in His timing. That’s
what happened to me when I recently attended LifeChurch.TV with a friend on a
Saturday evening.
Using a
real-life example, Pastor Groeschel used birds to demonstrate his message. A
buzzard, he said, searches for dead things, like road kill, to feast on.
However, the tiny hummingbird flits around looking for sweet things—the sweet
nectar of a flower or that provided by a human in a feeder. “Both,” he said,
“find what they’re looking for.”
As I
thought about the scripture and the pastor’s example, I realized how true it
is. If we don’t look for the good, then we will certainly see the evil in
everything. I’m not saying we should look at the world through rose-colored
glasses but neither should we be a “Negative Nancy” or a “Debbie Downer.”
(Note: If your name is Nancy or Debbie, please do not be offended.)
How often
we take offense, choosing not to seek the good in another person or a situation
we cannot change. Romans 12:2 tells us “Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind.”
Clinging to what is good should be the choice each Christian makes.
Through the renewal of our mind, which can only happen through a
transformational relationship with Jesus Christ, we can begin to see the good
in the world. Some believe it’s difficult to see the good when we are blasted constantly
with negative news, courtesy of the media. Maybe that’s because bad news
travels faster than the good. There is a common saying in the journalism
business which is, “If it bleeds it reads.”
Instead of focusing on the evil in our world, which has been around since the beginning of time—remember Satan in the Garden of Eden—we need to see our world through the eyes of God. Evil breaks God’s heart. Genesis 6:6 says, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”
Instead of focusing on the evil in our world, which has been around since the beginning of time—remember Satan in the Garden of Eden—we need to see our world through the eyes of God. Evil breaks God’s heart. Genesis 6:6 says, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”
In Romans 12:9, Paul writes, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil;
cling to what is good.”
Clinging to what is good should be the choice each Christian makes. Complaining about the evil in our world doesn’t change it. However, when we choose God’s way of life, we can even find beauty among the ashes. And often change our world in the process.
Clinging to what is good should be the choice each Christian makes. Complaining about the evil in our world doesn’t change it. However, when we choose God’s way of life, we can even find beauty among the ashes. And often change our world in the process.
American essayist
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that
is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting—a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and
thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”
For more inspiration, check out Carol's blog at www.carolaround.com where you can sign up to receive a free copy of her first book, "A Matter of Faith."
For more inspiration, check out Carol's blog at www.carolaround.com where you can sign up to receive a free copy of her first book, "A Matter of Faith."
You so easily dismiss seeing the world through rose colored glasses. That is my natural state. I'm so thankful for God's gift of that character. It does make me less than empathetic regarding negative folks, however.
ReplyDeleteI try to look at the world through God's eyes. Not always easy, though.
ReplyDelete