PERSONAL TRAINERS
The fitness industry seems to be growing like never before. Everywhere I go it seems that more and more people are choosing fitness and healthier lifestyles.
Many people hire personal trainers to help them achieve their goals. Contrary to what some might think, the personal trainer’s job isn’t to provide conversation while you effortlessly and mindlessly go through the motions. One advantage of the personal trainer is that they can see areas in your diet or training that could be detrimental. For example, someone who wants to gain muscle and lose weight might choose to “eat healthier.” But some “healthy” foods might not be conducive for their goals. And if they continue doing what seems right (Proverbs 14:12), they might end up worse off than when they started. The same goes for the Christian. There are things that we picked up along the way that we believe are normal, but are actually detrimental to our walk. One of those things is justification.
THE DECEPTION OF JUSTIFICATION
I believe that justification is the Christian’s kryptonite. Anytime we justify something, we don’t repent; and if we don’t repent, we won’t change. Justification is one of the worst enemies to a believer because it keeps us at odds with God. James 4:6 says that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The Greek word used for resist is antitassó, which means “to set oneself against.” When we choose to nurse one of these ungodly emotions, it is our pride that is saying we know what is best. When we do this, God sets Himself against us. Proverbs 29:1 says, “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed without remedy.” Romans 9:15 says, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” We don’t determine whether or not God will show us mercy. We are to live in obedience; we are not to live based on the assumption that God will show us mercy for our obstinance just because He is a merciful God. The reason King David was known as a man after God’s own heart is because he was quick to repent. He made mistakes, but he didn’t justify them. You can’t crucify what you justify.
In his daily devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”, Oswald Chambers said, “If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness.” Dr. Jim Denison said, “Our ability to justify anything that enables us to do what we want is at the center of the fallen human condition.”
THE EMOTIONS WE GREW UP WITH
We grew up thinking and being taught that certain emotions (hurt, offense, disappointment, discouragement, frustration, anger, annoyance, etc.) are natural emotions given to us by God. But the way that we know that they are not from God is that they are self-centered. You can’t find any of these in the life of Jesus. If we think they are normal, we will remain deceived. For example, people justify anger or try to “manage” it. But the Bible doesn’t say to manage anger, it says to do away with it! (Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:8) Just because someone has a different point of view or belief doesn’t justify hostility toward them. Why do we have to have animosity towards someone just because we don’t agree? Another example is the Spanish word decepcionar, which means “to disappoint.” It comes from a Latin root that actually means “to deceive.” If we knew what we were doing by yielding to these attitudes and emotions, most of us would be more vigilant against such tactics and temptations of the enemy. When we have a right perspective that comes by the truth of God’s Word, we can see clearly. “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34. We have to view things the way Jesus would view them, if He were in our shoes. If we can’t find the things that we say about our situation in Jesus’ mouth, then we shouldn’t be able to find them in ours, since we are made in His image (Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10). The Greek word used for “image” in both of these verses is “eikón,” which means a “mirror like representation.“
One common way that people give in to this is by sharing or telling others about the injustice that happened to them or how someone offended them. Misery loves company. But the moment we do this, we announce to satan and to those we complain to that we are choosing to be victims, not victors, and that we don’t know Him like we think we do. “The Bible says to cast our cares, not share our cares!” – Lisa Bevere. One pastor said, “When we revisit our past apart from the blood of Jesus, we bear dead fruit in our present reality.“ Another pastor said, “This is how you know that you know Him – on the night that you’re betrayed, you don’t have to call a friend crying to tell them about it because you’ve already laid down your life.“ Also, frustration doesn’t equal justification. Just because we allow someone or something to push our buttons doesn’t justify un-Christlike actions or attitudes. When you squeeze an orange, you expect orange juice. If you got apple juice, that would be weird. So when a Christian gets squeezed and anything other than Christ comes out, it should seem equally as strange.
CREATED IN HIS IMAGE
We are to look like Christ looked in this world. 1 John 4:17 says, “In this world we are like Jesus.” Another translations reads, “As He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 2:6 says, “Whoever claims to live (abide) in Him must live as Jesus did.” The reason it’s so hard for many to live this way is because most of us don’t believe it’s possible. Why don’t we challenge that? As the old saying goes, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” The same goes with our Christian walk. If we don’t believe we can walk like Jesus walked, we won’t even try. And the following verses that we like to quote will just continue to be wall decor in our offices and homes, but won’t have any real meaning in our lives:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
“He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world.”
“We have the mind of Christ.”
“Through all these things we are more than conquerors.”
OUR CALLING
We are His ambassadors to the world and He is our model. No matter what our occupation is, our calling is simple: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.”
1 Peter 2:21-23 NIV
The Good News-tritionist
