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.

Be Like Christ

I am pretty sure that I've read this verse a million and 7 times, but it always reminds me of what I can improve on in my life. 

Philippians 2: 3-4 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

               It sounded much simpler to me than it does when I actually try to put it into practice. As humans, we can be very selfish and self-satisfying. When I tell a good story (as I often like to do), I do that because 1) I know I can be a good story teller, but also 2) I like hearing people approve of what I do. Is that wrong?

             Heaven knows that it's not my intention to be selfish, so is there something that describes what I do if it's not selfishness? I won't try to justify this because I can't, but when it comes down to caring for people, I want to be able to do it the way Jesus Christ did it. He told stories to save souls.

          I encourage you, dear reader, to take time to grapple with this verse (and the passage in general which talks about humility) and see how much better our world would be if we all had this mentality. I guess next time I tell a story, it should be for the uplifting of others, making them see the Jesus in me 'cause I'm trying to be like Christ.

Alright homies, until next time.

Much love, peace and selfless grease,

Ife 'Quipayan' S.

Jesus and I. We're like this: &

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to death---even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:1-11. I thought focusing on the entire passage would be too much, but after reading it over and over and over and over, etc, I realized that there is something about this passage that forces me to see the overview of who my Savior was and is.

It talks about what Paul would like to see in those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord (Christians) and then it talks about the actions and humility of Jesus. I don't know about you, but when I think of Jesus, I tend to separate Him from me. We generally don't exist on the same page. Yes, I talk to Him. Yes, I read His Word. However, the idea of including myself and Jesus in the same line rarely comes up. But  Paul makes that connection because of the way Christ lives in us.

'Unity with Christ. Fellowship with the Spirit.' Here we establish the fact that Christ does not desire for a long-distance relationship. No way! He wants to kick it with you and your friends at the movies and sit with you in class. He wants to love you and be your friend. In this, we are united with Christ. And in our unity, we [need to] reflect the nature of Christ himself, this humble guy that figured dying was the only way to give me life. Go figure.

'He humbled himself. Therefore God exalted him.' These phrases reflect the nature of Christ Jesus. That means that if this is what Chris is doing, then this is what I need to be doing. No, I am not Jesus Christ, but by being one with Him, I should humble myself. In doing so, Christ exalts me.  <--that can be further explained another time.

Sooo...long story short: Jesus and I are united (friends!) thus, we share similar traits (humility)---at least we should.

It's a work in progress, but I know that it will happen. I can get there. Claim it. Pray about it. Work on being one with Christ. (If you need assistance, holla atcha home giiiirl 'cause I then can point you to the Bibliaaaaa).

I'm out. Deuces.

Much love, peace and unity grease,
    Ife 'Quipayan' S.

P.S. I'm getting ready for my Spanish TA interview process. ?Hablas español? Chuta.