Give

3/6/2012

Galatians 6:4- “Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.”

Interpretation: Why do we do the things we do? God tells us to test our actions, so we can see the real motives in our hearts when we do specific things. In the last 2 months I have been praying for God to help me improve at playing the guitar, and he has surely been gracious to respond to my requests. I could move different directions with this knowledge. I could look at someone who can’t play guitar as well as me and feel proud of what I have accomplished, setting God’s intervention aside for my own personal gain. Or, I could look at someone who plays guitar better than me and feel slighted and envious, and my pride would still destroy me. Here is the truth of what God asks us to do. God asks us to test our actions. To evaluate and become conscious of the way we speak to others or react to certain situations. He wants to create in us an awareness of the reasons behind our deeds. So while I’m playing guitar, I am being attentive of why I am playing it. He wants me to be proud in him and what he can do for his children, not proud of my own ability, which I know I would not have without him. He doesn’t want us to look to other people to determine where we fit in on a scale of 1 to 10. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him alone. When we stop comparing ourselves to others there is such a freedom, and we can take pride in the things God has blessed us with, instead of our arrogance eating us up and ruining the good work he is doing. I have nothing to be proud of apart from God. As Paul continues to write in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Application: I love playing my guitar. The next opportunity I have to play it when someone else is playing, instead of pursuing my own desires I will give helpful instruction to someone else, knowing I couldn’t play guitar without God, let alone even own one.