Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Actions creating character, and character showing through actions.
Step by step. This is how I will finish my half-marathon, step by step. If I never take the first step, I will never finish the race. Makes sense, right? But then how many times in life, do we never take the first step? We see the finish line or end goal of something we are trying to accomplish, but we never take that first step. As for me, I want to lose weight and be ‘in shape’, but if I never eat right, then my end goal will never come true. Furthermore, I want to be a man of character, a man that is devoted to God, and honors him. BUT, if I never steps towards him like ‘earnestly seek him’ as the book of Hebrews speak of, then I will never be a man of character.
Something I have been thinking of lately is how to be a man [or person] of character; you thus must be a person of action. I love the illustration that is shown in the Bible with a guy named David. Now most people today know David as a guy who killed Goliath or a man who was after God’s own heart. Both are true. Both are caused by the same effect. The effect was simple, David was a man of action.
The story starts with the Israelites fighting in a war against the Philistines. The Philistines have a man named Goliath who was a big boy, and Goliath challenged any Israelite to fight him. Every Israelite was afraid, so for forty days, Goliath came out and challenged any man to fight him. Well David went to the war zone to give his brothers some bread. While David was there, Goliath came out and challenged anyone to fight him. David knew he could take him. David told Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Of course, Saul saw this little kid and said, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy”
Then something interesting happened, David didn’t walk away. He has been waiting for this moment, whether he knew it or not. David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Did you catch was David said? David simply said, “I have been training for this, day by day, step by step. I fought lesser battles so that I could be prepared for this battle. I have killed lions and bears, and now I will kill this Philistine.” David was a man of action. He took steps so that he would be prepared for further battles. The ending of this story is easy: David killed Goliath. David was a man of action. It would be noted later on that David was a man after God’s own heart. David was continually pushing what is ahead. Always making progress so that he could handle what would be down the road.
To be a person of character, you must be a person of action. Step by step.
Something I have been thinking of lately is how to be a man [or person] of character; you thus must be a person of action. I love the illustration that is shown in the Bible with a guy named David. Now most people today know David as a guy who killed Goliath or a man who was after God’s own heart. Both are true. Both are caused by the same effect. The effect was simple, David was a man of action.
The story starts with the Israelites fighting in a war against the Philistines. The Philistines have a man named Goliath who was a big boy, and Goliath challenged any Israelite to fight him. Every Israelite was afraid, so for forty days, Goliath came out and challenged any man to fight him. Well David went to the war zone to give his brothers some bread. While David was there, Goliath came out and challenged anyone to fight him. David knew he could take him. David told Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Of course, Saul saw this little kid and said, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy”
Then something interesting happened, David didn’t walk away. He has been waiting for this moment, whether he knew it or not. David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Did you catch was David said? David simply said, “I have been training for this, day by day, step by step. I fought lesser battles so that I could be prepared for this battle. I have killed lions and bears, and now I will kill this Philistine.” David was a man of action. He took steps so that he would be prepared for further battles. The ending of this story is easy: David killed Goliath. David was a man of action. It would be noted later on that David was a man after God’s own heart. David was continually pushing what is ahead. Always making progress so that he could handle what would be down the road.
To be a person of character, you must be a person of action. Step by step.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)