Experiment on Righteousness

Rules. Rules. Rules. Rules!

We all get tired of rules every now and then. Rules that remind us we aren't driving on the German autobahn at whatever speed we want. Rules that tell us how tall we can build our fancy houses. Rules that make us pay extra at the check-out line (yes, those pesky taxes). Rules that put noise limits on our celebrations, otherwise guess who shows up at your door?

All these rules are certainly in place for a reason. If speed limits were not in place, accidents and deaths would occur at a greater rate than they already do. If we built wherever and however we wanted, we would also fall to our deaths faster--designing unstable buildings at dangerous heights (no bueno). And if there were no rules on taxes (imagine optional tax?!), our society would not be funded and we wouldn't get paved roads or functioning street lights.

So these rules are good for something!

The same goes for the rules God put into place for us. Laws on how to treat your neighbors, on what thoughts are permissible, on what marriage means, on what kind of person we should be.

I was thinking about these rules, laws, precepts, statutes last night as I faded to sleep. Why don't I adhere to these better? Why do I make the choice to follow some rules and disregard others? Aren't they for MY benefit?

If I choose to drive at 100mph, people would look at me crazy and worry for my safety. If I choose to entertain thoughts that are not pure, true, noble, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8), my outlook on life, my perception of people and my actions start to reflect these negative, hurtful thoughts. Isn't that dangerous?

And David comes to the same conclusion: I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life (Psalm 119: 93). The rules and laws of God are to help us, never to harm us; to give us a bright future, one that He has planned since the beginning of time.

So, I am going to try something. I'm not perfect, yet so I have lots of room to grown. Let's try moral excellence for size. 21 days of diligently following God's precepts: my experiment on righteousness, and we'll see what the results are after those 21 days.

And one of the ways I'll know His statutes is by reading the word, hearing the word and studying the word.

Each day, I'll document what precept I learned and how I lived by it. I'll keep notes on my computer and share progress results every few days (God help me). Not in my strength, but in His strength alone because we all know that being human is such a struggle!

Independent variables: God's laws, i.e. the Bible
Dependent variables: My progress

Constant: Reading the Word at 9:30 am every morning and spending at least 10 minutes in prayer in the mornings. Wooo. LORD, help me. Give me the dedication and the commitment (which I'm not very good at yet...surprise surprise).

Alright, I'll take it one day at a time. That's life, right?

Here's to this experiment!

Much love, peace and elbow grease,

Ife "Quipayan" S.

New Kind of Monster

Found on Hanging10withBosco.com

Hello friendlies,
In order for this short post to make sense, you have to see this YouTube video (F-bomb alert)! 

1. Spoken word is awesome (watch the video if you STILL haven't).

2. This particular video reminded me, as a Christian, I try and have this look, this image going for me -
*Pumpkin: the well rounded Christian, not too obnoxious, not too bland, just right.
*Fairy: the Christian doing the most good
*Turtle: the Christian no one hates
*M 'n' M: the Christian that's got it ALL going on 

The super chill, holy, Jesus-filled, walking the straight and narrow. Christian.

But, there's a lot of darkness inside that I don't want others to see, the freak show underneath:
(enter OLD creature Ife)

 "....all that I am don't fit prettily into polyester and spandex [i.e. Los 10 Commandments for me]. I'd much rather be a Sasquatch, Godzilla, King Kong, Loch Ness goblin, ghoul, a zombie with no conscious [ . . . ] I'd much rather be vampire. My reflection disappearing every time I looked in the mirror so I wouldn't have to worry about flaws that stare blankly back at me."

Pause. Stop and Consider

2 Corinthians 5:17, the Bible

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 

The old has gone, the new is here!"

"On a bad day, I'm human." My organs fail, my flaws shine bright like a diamond, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin. On a good day, I become like the vampire-don't see my flaws, I'm like the mummy-dead to me, and I'm like the boogeyman-the devil's worst nightmare. My flaws are thrown so far away from me, my old rebellious, enslaved self is dead and buried and I become a new kind of threat.

Not out of my own power, but of a power that resides in me (that I call Jesus power) and can shine through when I'm not trying to control. So, yes. I choose to be monster, a new kind of monster.

Pause.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: 

The old has gone, the new is here!"

"I've heard that some of the most beautiful women are the craziest ones."

*Side Note: Props to the ladies on the video. All the quoted parts not cited are their words, not mine.*