my life be like.

Galatians 6:1-5: Doing Good to All

1. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5. for each one should carry their own load.

In a world of social media and constant online presence, it is easy to compare ourselves to others. Often, we feel we are falling short of the perfection we see on our screens - people who "have it all together" and who seem to be accomplishing everything that we have not. But as the famous quote says, "comparison is the thief of joy." We are not meant to compare ourselves to those around us - our paths are not the same and our we will never achieve our ultimate goals by following someone else's path. 

So how do we correct our course? As the Word says in verse one, we should restore ourselves and each other GENTLY.  If we approach one another out of anger or annoyance, it may not be received well, AND we should be extending that same courtesy to ourselves. A good community is a major part of that - we are not meant to do life alone, and we are meant to help one another carry our burdens. These two verses go hand in hand - we are meant to correct gently and help carry burdens; but again, the emphasis is on correction. We should not be accepting of all actions; we should have a standard that we hold ourselves and each other to. However, we are human and we will fail. We should always strive to hit the ultimate mark and to be as close to the perfect ways of Jesus as possible - but again, we are human and we will fail. That failure requires us to have grace so that we are restored in God. 

The passage continues to remind us to be humble; that if we believe we are something (without God) we are nothing. In verse 4 it goes on to say that "each one should test their own actions."  This speaks to how we will all have to stand alone before God and answer for our own actions. We cannot blame or fault someone else because as verse 5 says, we are to carry our own loads. 

So what now? CHECK YOURSELF. 

Are you living by the Spirt or by your own flesh? 

Are you a part of a Godly community that will help restore you and carry your burdens? Or are you part of a secular community that will stamp your bad actions and leave you to die? 

Are you thinking of yourself too pridefully? Or are you humbled before the Lord? 

Are you constantly examining yourself, your heart, your life to make sure it lines up with the Word of God? Or are you comparing yourself to others? 

Are you carrying your load? 

Ephesians 15-20

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Th Word says be careful how you LIVE and how we take care of each day/each opportunity. This is not about what we do one time or how we look on social media - it is about being intentional and following what God has called us to do daily. The passage continues to push this point, reminding us to be wise (not foolish) and to understand God's will. To understand His will, we must know Him. Verse 18 further brings this point across; telling us that instead of numbing ourselves with drink or any other vice daily, we should instead choose to be filled with the Spirit.  

The point continues to be carried in verses 19-20, which again emphasize the need to intentional - to speak to each other not just in kindness, but "from the Spirit" and "from your own heart."  This highlights once again our need to not only be filled with the Spirit, but to daily feed ourselves with the Word of God and with "psalms, hymns, and songs" as verse 19 says. 

This is not a race; it is the journey of an entire lifetime. And we cannot change anything in our journey so far, but we can make sure we are on the right path moving forward. How? By getting to know God on a personal level and doing what we were called to do - being intentional! Spend time with Him in prayer and in His word daily. Finally, we give thanks in this and everything, always, as we see in the last verse. 

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