I try to read my Bible daily. I go through periods where I read every day, and periods where I don't read for weeks. Unfortunately, the latter is more common. But right now, I'm reading daily, which feels good.
The past few nights I've been reading Psalm 119. There's lots of good stuff in there, like verse 125: "Give me discernment that I may understand your statutes." I think discernment is something I should pray for more often.
But what really stood out to me was all the talk about loving God's commands:
v127: "Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path."
v129: "Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them."
v143: "Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight."
I started to wonder if I really love God's commands. Do I obey them because I love God and delight in what He tells me to do, or do I obey them because they're convenient, or because I think they're the right thing to do anyway? I mean, I think killing (including the death penalty) is wrong, but I would think that regardless of God's view on the topic. So that's a really easy commandment for me to keep.
Or all the stuff about serving the poor? James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." So God wants me to help the helpless. I do this to some extent (not nearly as much as I should, I want to make that clear), but why I am I doing it? Obedience to God's word? Or because I'm a big softy who can't say no and thinks it's the right thing to do?
Here's kind of an opposite example. That verse in James talked about not being polluted by the world. And there are lots of other similar things the Bible tells us to do that are extremely inconvenient, like the things Shane Claiborne does in The Irresistible Revolution. I'm not doing most of those things.
Or when God tells says that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Well, if I really think that, I should be taking much better care of myself, right? Working out more, dieting more, taking my vitamins...
I don't want this to turn into me pointing out all my flaws (because goodness knows, that would take a long time). I'm just wondering, do I really delight in God's commandments? I don't think I do. So what can I do to change my attitude to that of the psalmist? I wish I did love God's commands more than gold. I want to get there. I'm just not sure how.
The past few nights I've been reading Psalm 119. There's lots of good stuff in there, like verse 125: "Give me discernment that I may understand your statutes." I think discernment is something I should pray for more often.
But what really stood out to me was all the talk about loving God's commands:
v127: "Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path."
v129: "Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them."
v143: "Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight."
I started to wonder if I really love God's commands. Do I obey them because I love God and delight in what He tells me to do, or do I obey them because they're convenient, or because I think they're the right thing to do anyway? I mean, I think killing (including the death penalty) is wrong, but I would think that regardless of God's view on the topic. So that's a really easy commandment for me to keep.
Or all the stuff about serving the poor? James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." So God wants me to help the helpless. I do this to some extent (not nearly as much as I should, I want to make that clear), but why I am I doing it? Obedience to God's word? Or because I'm a big softy who can't say no and thinks it's the right thing to do?
Here's kind of an opposite example. That verse in James talked about not being polluted by the world. And there are lots of other similar things the Bible tells us to do that are extremely inconvenient, like the things Shane Claiborne does in The Irresistible Revolution. I'm not doing most of those things.
Or when God tells says that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Well, if I really think that, I should be taking much better care of myself, right? Working out more, dieting more, taking my vitamins...
I don't want this to turn into me pointing out all my flaws (because goodness knows, that would take a long time). I'm just wondering, do I really delight in God's commandments? I don't think I do. So what can I do to change my attitude to that of the psalmist? I wish I did love God's commands more than gold. I want to get there. I'm just not sure how.
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