Being or doing? Which is it? Which is our attitude? Our mind set? Which is mine?
Part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount includes the beatitudes. In each one, a blessing is attached when we are…
* poor in spirit
* mournful
* meek
* hungry and thirsty for righteousness
* merciful
* pure in heart
* peacemakers
* persecuted
As has been said, these are be attitudes. I am to have these attitudes within me; I am to be before I can do. Many Christians try to do before they be. I know, bad grammar but correct theology.
After the beatitudes, Jesus says I am, and you are, the salt of the earth and light of the world. This comes from within, from being righteous. But what is the extent of our being righteous? Jesus said, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:20 NIV)
The lack of the proper righteousness has an eternal downside. If the righteousness within us is not above the righteousness of those Jesus called “hypocrites,” then we will never peek inside heaven’s gate.
What is the blessing of the fourth beatitude? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6 NKJV)
After years of doing, I had a lot to unlearn, for much that I did was not of eternal value. It was all self-efforts. I had to reprogram my brain, my heart, and my spirit to first be. I hungered and thirsted after that righteousness and I was filled.
Scripture tells us many times to be something, such as followers, steadfast, separate, kind, thankful, or patient. Peter recaps God’s command from the Old Testament in 1 Peter 1:16 as the King James puts it, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” He did not say to do holy but to be holy. Besides, one cannot do holy if s/he cannot first be holy.
Matthew 5:48 says that we are to be perfect as the Father is perfect. However, the word does not mean perfection. I found a translation of this verse that states it more clearly. It’s in the Bible in Basic English, which says, “Be then complete in righteousness, even as your Father in heaven is complete.”
If we cannot be as the Word tells us first to be, then we certainly cannot do what the Word tells us to do and have it be of eternal value.
All our being emanates from the heart, for, as a twist on Proverbs 23:7, as one “thinks in his heart, so be he.”
So, let me ask you: are you being or doing?
Lynn writes devotionals and inspirational stories. She has one book waiting to be published in 2015 and is working on a second one. Her greatest passion is to fulfill God’s call on her life to encourage others and glorify the Lord with her writing. She currently writes for several sites and writes bi-weekly on her site, Heading Home. http://lynnmosher.com
- When Heaven and Earth Collided - December 21, 2016
- A Thanksgiving Proclamation - November 23, 2016
- The Cranky Bride - October 25, 2016
