"So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you. Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves."James 1:21-22 ERV
News about the Covid 19 pandemic dominate the air waves all over the world and have replaced "the horrific stories of destructive wars, persecution and mass shootings." Humanity are now fighting Covid 19 as its common enemy and the pandemic has awakened the spirit of compassion as well as revealing the evil that is hidden in our hearts.
In these very difficult and unpredictable times, we truly need to pray that God will lead us out of temptation and to deliver us from evil. When we are tempted to judge and criticise others, we need to remember that the evil we see in others is but a mirror of the evil that is deep within our own hearts. We need to pay close attention to what God is saying to us in His Word:
“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God , search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” Jeremiah 17:9-10 MSG
"Everyone rejects God; they are all morally corrupt. None of them does what is right, not even one!" Psalms 14:3 NET
"Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:19-20 NLT
"But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard. You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless." James 1:25-26 ERV
"So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you." James 1:21 ERV
The bad news is that we are perfectly imperfect in this world but Jesus Christ has given us the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth where we are imperfectly perfect and being perfected. Covid 19 is revealing the truth of the third beatitude:
as well as the words of the prophet Isaiah:
"He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust." Isaiah 26:5 NLT
Humility is the third key into Kingdom the Heaven. We can only be humble when we recognise the sovereignty, mercy and grace of God in our lives and to respond by getting rid of everything evil in our lives. Our egos will drive us to do good to please God out of fear or guilt. But it is God who will change and is changing the world. We are not called to change the world but we are to pray for God to change us so that God can use us to change the world which is our inheritance. Life is not about us but all about God's S.O.S - Story Of Salvation through Jesus Christ. He came to reveal the power of the love that is fully manifested in one human being who is totally submitted to God:
"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
The Covid 19 pandemic draws attention to the power of one - the importance of each person practicing social distancing to control the spread of the virus. Just as we have the power to infect others with negative thoughts of fear and greed, we have the power to be a blessing to others by sharing the good news of God's salvation.
We have the choice to spread thoughts from the social media that causes fear and lead others to the sins of lust, greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony or sloth or we can seek to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control - by spending time with God as we practice social distancing.
We can cultivate the spirit of humility through the discipline of self examination by paying attention to what God is saying to us through His written Word. It is not trying to know God through the bible but letting God reveal the truths about ourselves as we meditate on the bible. We can do so through the practice of lectio divina which comprises of:
Lectio - reading the word of God
Meditatio - reflecting on the word of God to listen to what God is saying to us through a particular word or verse that we have read
Oratia - responding to the word of God by deciding to put into practice the truth that God has planted in our hearts
Contemplatio - resting in God's loving embrace and to be aware and attentive as to how the Holy Spirit is leading us through the events and circumstances of the day.
In the bible we see the power of one in insignificant people like the slave girl who lead Naaman to the prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarepath who did what Elijah asked her to do. Mother Teresa taught us the importance of doing the small things with great love rather than striving to do great things to satisfy our egos.
Each one of us can be the channel of the power of love when we purify our hearts from all evil. The world is dying spiritually and in need of spiritual healing. We can be part of God's problem or we can pray to be a part of God's solution by remembering that we are a part of the Body of Christ. Let us pray for a Spirit filled mind so that we will not be double minded with a divided heart. Paul Tournier gives us the following wise advice:
"The main thing in this world is not being sure what God's will is, but seeking it sincerely, and following what we do understand of it. The only possible answer to the destiny of man is to seek without respite to fulfill God's purpose."
God will give each one of us the power to make a difference in the world as we feed on His Word and grow in faith to face the fears, anxieties and sorrows that may lie ahead. May the words of the following hymn be an encouragement to all of us:
"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
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