Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Philippians

How Should We Then Live?

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With apologies to the classic book of the same name by Francis Schaeffer, I have recently been struck by the phrase “How should we then live?” It’s one of those thoughts that is stuck in my head and refuses to leave. In what ways will I set myself apart from the rest of the world and be identified as a disciple of Christ? In what ways will I pursue justice for the weak, the homeless, the orphan and the widow? How should I then speak for them? How should I then stand up for those who cannot do so on their own?

In Proverbs 30:8, it says that we should desire “just enough”. We should not desire too much or we might become greedy and slothful. If we have too little, we may become jealous of others and perhaps even resort to dishonesty and theft to gain what belongs to someone else. Paul echoes these sentiments in his letter to the Philippians (chapter 4, verses 11 and 12). I have prayed this prayer in relation to my finances. I desire to have “just enough”; if I am blessed with anything more, then I know I must invest that money in the kingdom by giving it to the poor. If I am blessed to have “too little”, then it is my responsibility to learn to draw closer to God during this time and allow Him to grow my faith in Him. To receive the blessing of “just enough” is a great practice in humility and should not cause stress, but rather thanksgiving.

I believe that this same principal applies to all other areas of our life as well. Having “just enough” to eat leads to far greater health than overindulgence. To have “just enough” in terms of our clothing, the number of our possessions or the size of our homes is to live in humility before the Lord. A follower of Christ should never be attempting to keep up with the Jones’, but rather to find favor from Jesus! And so on a very personal level, I believe that is how we should live. We should live in a constant state of “just enough”. Be content with that which the Lord has blessed you. If ever you feel like you do not have enough, cry out to God to further fill you with His Spirit, because He is definitely enough. Let Jesus fill the emptiness in your life and you will be eternally full.

Having “just enough”, living humbly and in full faith before our God, will give us the attitude we need to spread His love to those around us. Having just enough food will cause us to sacrifice when we feed someone in need; having just enough “stuff” will enable us to be blessed by giving more than we are able. Ultimately, the way we should live is in service to others; it’s demonstrating the love of God to friend and stranger, acquaintance and neighbor. We are called to love, service and obedience. We have been given just enough strength to accomplish what God has created us to do.

How should we then live? We should live in humility and faith, seeking just enough to survive and serve, and being content with whatever we are provided. We should live always putting the needs of others before our own. We should live in a constant state of devotion and submission to God. We should live as people who pursue justice for all people, who feed the hungry and clothe those in need. We should live as obedient, faithful and loving servants of Jesus Christ. This, then, is how we should live.

Negativity

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It has always struck me as curious when I run into a follower of Christ who has a negative attitude. We of all people should always be positive because of the hope in Jesus to which we cling so tightly. Indeed, as followers of Christ, we are called to hope (Ephesians 4:4). How is it then that so many Christians live their lives in a state of negativity, finding fault with everyone and reasons why every idea will fail? The answers may be as varied as the people who posses such a quality, but I believe the cure and the prevention is universal.

There is great truth to the statement that we become what we think about. If we focus on the negative aspects of what is happening around us we will, in time, become negative people. If we look upon the positive side of things we will, in the same way, become a positive person. It’s truly just a matter of mindset. In some ways I am tempted to believe that there should be no such thing as a Christian pessimist. While I don’t intend to imply that we should walk through life wearing rose colored glasses as we must be shrewd and perspicacious in our dealings with others, but we can choose to always believe the best and see the best in others and in every situation.

Another curious law is the fact that negative people tend to attract negative things into their lives; positive people tend to draw positive things to them. I had a friend who used to constantly tell me that the number 43 was the most common number in the world. He would say it over and over again. Guess what happened? Everywhere we went, we kept seeing the number 43. It was on signs, parking lots, radio, and television; it was everywhere! Does the number 43 really occur more often in nature than any other number? Of course not! The fact was I was now thinking about the number a lot, and so I was finding it everywhere. The same law applies in turn such that if we think negative thoughts, we will find negativity all around us. Think positively, and you will draw positive experiences to you. Hope is positive, and Jesus is the King of hope. Think about Jesus, and He will come near to you (James 4:8). How can you think of Him and put out negative thoughts into the world?

If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts, you must practice the habit of capturing them as soon as they creep into your mind. Grab the thought and force yourself to find something positive in the situation. A great rule is to never permit yourself or any of your acquaintances to say something negative before they have said something positive in any given situation. In this way you will learn to be positive-first thinkers. Thinking positively is easily accomplished by looking at every situation as Christ would look at it. Take a step back and look again with love and empathy. How can you shine Christ’s love onto the scene rather than making it worse with some acidic comment?

Finally, I’ve noticed that negativity is often an excuse for fear. People are afraid of saying something positive because it might require something of them. For example, I’ve heard people criticize the relief efforts in the recent earthquakes. They say negative things like, “they are probably all dead already”, “they’ll never find anyone alive” or “what good will those two people from my church do amongst all that rubble?” Deep inside, I believe these people fear that if they don’t criticize the effort, they may be compelled to go themselves. And that would be uncomfortable; that would be inconvenient. Easier to throw water on someone else’s fire than to fan the flames of your own calling.

Don’t be a negative person; you have Christ within you. You will become what you think about, so think only of Christ and things of beauty (Philippians 4:8). Practice being positive-first people, and throwing out negative thoughts. Approach every situation with love and empathy. Above all, don’t quench the spirit of others because you are simply too afraid to do what they do. We are people of love and hope. There is no negativity in Christ. Live His love loudly.