The above words ring synonymously with the Lord God Almighty. Rightfully so.
He alone can claim them in every aspect of their fullest meaning.
In no way do they apply to Christians. They just don’t. But, God help us, we sometimes display this attitude about so many things in which we have no right to do so. Name me one of us who hasn’t stumbled badly through the course of walking out our faith. We can talk a good line, but when it comes to living it out, we often fail. Miserably. Praise God, sometimes we obey in those circumstances when our flesh rages against the Holy Spirit and, lo, we forge through the temptations and do “the right thing”. We take no credit for it other than knowing the relief and blessing that follows such actions.
Sometimes Christians pontificate with a moral absoluteness against things in which they’ve never been tested. “The high road” we often call it, choosing to exalt those actions which somehow place us above the masses both in the secular world and in our world of weaker-faith brethren. We know what’s right and those who do these things can’t possibly be smiled upon by our Great Lord because what they do is just plain wrong! Those right things can be attached to the simplistic and the complex and very often all they demonstrate is our ability to show pomposity in its “highest” form. Not to mention our hypocrisy.
From the rules of no makeup and long dresses to the ideal methodology of war in the 21st century, Christians expound on the lawlessness, evil, wrong-doing, and sinfulness of those who participate in the ideology that counters their own. We are a sinful bunch and one of the major faults is our incessant ability to dictate the way others must live according to our understanding of the “rules”, the “moral high-ground”, the “authentic Christian”, tending to ignore our own fleshly tendencies.
There is a right way to live in Christ. It’s personified in dying to self on a daily basis, praying for the Lord to exceed us, to ask for the faith we need to persevere in doing what the Lord requires of us according to His word and personal instruction. We’re responsible for our salvation and behavior in Christ—not anyone else’s. When we speak against the evils in this world, we must do so with the understanding that at any time we could’ve chosen that road—and of number one importance: make sure what you come against is in fact wrong according to God, not you.
God, forgive us for our short-sighted views on just about everything. Help us to see with your eyes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.