One of the most cliche statements I hear almost every day is a rendition of one of the above. When I was in high school, gossiping about Susie or Joe was probably the most commonplace conversation I heard on a regular basis. What was second? The person gossiping exalting themselves for being "real". I think this is one of many examples of what is so wrong with our society today.
Everyone wants to believe they're a good person. Everyone wants to believe they're different than the guy who just cheated on his girlfriend or the girl who talks behind her friends' backs on a regular basis. As Christians, I think we get caught up in a lie telling ourselves that because we follow Christ, we are better. Sure, we recognize that we aren't perfect, but God loves us and we're working to be better people, right? I would hope so. But are we really working to be better people or are we simply telling ourselves we'll take the necessary steps and then continue to delay action?
I'll be the first to admit, I've delayed action far too often in the past. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been watching Netflix before bed and I'm hit with a feeling that I need to pray. What do I do? I tell myself I'll pray before I go to sleep, but it's not "necessary" right this minute. What happens? I fall asleep without a second thought about God. Of course I love Him. Of course I want to give Him my time. But in that moment, I chose myself. I chose worldly desires. I chose the flesh over the Spirit.
My youth minister, +Brittany Taylor, at Sandusky Life Teen used to tell us, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Think about that for a second. How often do we have good intentions in our hearts, but when it comes time to take action, we let our selfish passions keep us in a holding pattern? We choose comfort. We chose personal satisfaction.
The concept of good intentions is, I believe, one of our biggest downfalls as Christians. Our decision to chase after God's own heart has filled us with His spirit and desire to love and do good, but have we really committed our lives to loving others and being who God is calling us to be? I think it's time we stop filling this world with unfulfilled promises. As Christians, we should all want to be saints. If there's one thing every saint has done, it's continue to work on being holy each and every day and with each opportunity that came their way.
As we continue our journey through Advent toward Christmas, I invite each of us, myself included, to really make an effort to take action. Instead of merely aspiring to "Be real", let's actually make an effort to do so. Love instead of simply desiring to do so. Pray instead of simply desiring to do so. Invite God into your life and ask him to use you as His tools to spread the gospel. Cherish the present moment as the gift from God that it is. Chances are, if He places a desire on your heart to pray, He probably has something important to tell you. Don't delay taking action. Be the spark of light in a dark room.
