Easier Said Than Done

"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." 1 Peter 2:1 (ESV)

I will have to admit that as a pastor I tend to read passages like 1 Peter 2 in the direction of the congregation rather than myself. After all, they need to hear things like this much more often than I do. But more often than not I find God using the scripture yes to talk about the church I pastor, but much more often than not God uses the scripture to speak to me.

I know this all sounds very much obvious. Of course God speaks to us personally through His Word. But how many times have you read a passage and another person's name came to mind and when our name comes to mind we tend to suppress it.

Take a look at the 1 Peter 2:1 again. All too often I find that I fulfill most if not all of those words Peter uses. He is in a way begging the churches in Galatia to live a life different from the world around them. He desires for their lives to reveal the glory of God through their circumstances and how they react to those circumstances. "[S]o that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7). How much more should my life reveal the glory of God.

But all too often words spoken are easier said than done. I am finding that the more I try to live my life for Christ the more I fail. What I mean by this is that I try it on my own, through my own power. That is why I fail. The only way to accomplish the goal of true sanctification is through the work of God in my life. He needs to do the work in me. And I need to be willing to be changed. Obviously, right now I'm not ready because I am still grasping onto the hope that I can handle it. Now the definition of insanity is coming to mind.