TWO SINFUL EXTREMES:
With almost every aspect of the Christian life, I picture a number line. In one direction is one extreme and in the other direction is another extreme. In the power of the sinful flesh, all we can do is swing back and forth from one sinful tendency to another like a pendulum. We swing too far one way then too far the other way – and no matter which way we swing, we create dysfunction. It is VERY frustrating! Some examples:
Passive/Doormat <———-> Dominant/Control Freak
Too Quiet <———-> Too Talkative
Subservient<———-> Disrespectful
Afraid/Worried <———-> Apathetic
Perfectionistic/Legalistic <———-> License to Sin/Carelessness
This is often why those who don’t know Christ get so offended when I describe being a godly wife. The only options available to us when we are operating in our own flesh and our own human wisdom are these sinful extremes. They can’t see any other way. If I am talking about not being controlling and not being disrespectful – the world thinks the only option is to be a silent slave with no value, no voice, and no power.
GOD’S WAYS ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS:
God is all about a proper delicate balance and tension between contrasting qualities.
- He is Love but at the same time He is Holy and Just.
- He is full of grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but at the same time, He has wrath for sin.
- He is patient and long-suffering, but He also has righteous anger and He carries out judgment swiftly when He knows it is the right time.
- He is omnipotent and gentle.
- He is omnipresent but He is a gentleman and does not force us to let Him reign in our hearts.
- He is completely sovereign but He gives us free will and He does not override that.
We get a warped view of God when we focus on one attribute without understanding that all of His attributes are equally present all the time and that they exist in balance. Godliness is very similar – it is about proper balance in the power of God’s Spirit. It is all about knowing God and His love. It is about relationship with Him. When we “abide in Him” – He causes us to soar.
SOARING ABOVE THE SINFUL EXTREMES:
The way I picture it, when we come to Christ and allow Him to be LORD and yield control completely to Him each day and each moment as best we know how – He doesn’t call us to swing on the pendulum anymore, He empowers us to soar on wings like eagles above those sinful extremes in a beautiful balance of godly characteristics. Of course, it does take time – sanctification is a process where we learn to allow God to work in us more and more – it is very much like learning to walk. We fall a lot, especially at first – but we are never exempt from falling. If we are not abiding in Christ and His Spirit is not in control, we can fall at any time into sin.
The world thinks of “power” and “freedom” as the “strength to do whatever we want whenever we want in our sinful nature.”
In God’s economy “power and “freedom” are the “strength and ability to walk in obedience to God for His glory.”
So, instead of:
- passivity or dominance – we have the power to share our feelings, concerns, and ideas vulnerably and confidently but we don’t have to revert to doing nothing and we don’t have to try to steam roll people. God gives us the power to fly above the center of those two things in this sweet place of beauty and godly power.
- being too quiet or talking too much – God prompts us when to be quiet and when to wait and when and what to say at just the right time in just the right way.
being too wimpy or too harsh – God empowers us to….Continue Reading…@ https://peacefulsinglegirl.com
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