Do I Need Help?

Something I’ve always been taught, and even seen in my own life, is that it’s so easy to see the mistakes, wrongs and shortcomings in others while missing those of our own. If we do notice an area of our own lives that needs attention, we tend to reason our way past it without making any of those much-needed changes. Why is that? I believe it has its roots in pride. Wicked, selfish, arrogant pride.

Recently something was said, not directly to me, but it felt like it hit a bullseye right between my eyes. It woke me up to the cold, hard fact that I wasn’t doing everything that I could possibly do to serve my Lord.

My problem is that I find ways to excuse myself. “I’ve worked all day and am too worn out to put much effort into study.” Yes, I have to work. I must provide for my wife and home. But the truth of the matter is, when I get off work, no matter how tired I am, I’ll put forth the effort to do what I want to do.

Had I become so selfish and self-centered that I couldn’t give of my time to the Lord? Isn’t that one of the easiest things to do? Just spend some time with Him in prayer and Bible reading? Isn’t that the basics that we teach that are mandatory for Christian life?

I had been reading. I had been praying. But when I became honest with myself it was apparent that I wasn’t doing nearly as much as I should. This is fundamental! Because of my failure and laziness in these areas, I know that other areas of my spiritual life and responsibilities to my home and my church have fallen far short of what they should be.

Romans 12:1 came to mind during all this stuff going on in this head of mine:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The least I can do for a God Who sent His Son to become sin for me and suffer the punishment for it is to live for Him! I know this. I’ve even preached it! I thought I was living it. I’d convinced myself it was enough to spend a few minutes a day reading and praying for my own personal devotion. After all, I was tired from working all day.

By God’s grace, and most importantly, His strength, no more will I succumb to the temptation to be lazy in attending to my own spiritual well-being, and in turn will work harder to fulfill my responsibilities as the spiritual head of my home and the youth director/Sunday School teacher at church. I don’t want to make excuses any more. There are none.