FOCUS ON YOUR OWN WORK
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Galatians 6:4-5 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Have you noticed how easy it is to criticize someone else's work? We can pick apart the details that are missing or messy. When I get that critical spirit coming up on the inside, I remember a great quote I heard years ago--"There has never been a monument built to a critic."
Paul has a good solution--"pay careful attention to your own work." Focus on what God has called us to do and let God handle the other person.
And his logic is wonderful--"For we are each responsible for our own conduct." This is a new concept in our culture--accepting responsibility for our actions. We live in a day when it appears easier to blame anything bad on someone else. If we spill coffee on ourselves and get burned, we blame the maker of the coffee. If we act in a socially unacceptable manner, it is our parents’ fault.
We love to play the blame game. But God says we should look in the mirror and accept responsibility. Once we accept the responsibility, we can do something about the issue. If we continue to blame others, we won't change the behavior.
I suggest that you set aside some time to review your life and see what patterns have developed. What challenges have you faced that might be a part of God’s shaping you into a unique person qualified to minister to others? What struggles have you gone through? What lessons have you learned? What lessons should you have learned?
Take some time to “pay careful attention to your own work.” Invite the Holy Spirit to examine your life and reveal lessons you need to learn.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to see myself the way God sees me. Help me to accept responsibility for my conduct. I invite You to correct me and empower me to follow Christ in every area of my life.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”