INSTANT GRATIFICATION VS LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT
We live in an instant society. Instant potatoes. Instant coffee. Instant meals. That comes with drawbacks. Instant potatoes are nowhere close to real mashed potatoes…no matter what the commercials might say. Instant oatmeal. I remember liking and eating CoCo Wheats. They certainly weren’t instant. They seemed to take forever to cook. Microwaves coming along made things even quicker. They tell me instant coffee is nowhere close to fresh ground bean coffee. (I wouldn’t know since I don’t drink either).
There is nothing wrong with microwaves and instant meals or instant anything. However, what one might sacrifice in taste, for example, is made up for in convenience and quickness.
There isn’t anything wrong with instant anything except that it will never happen in spiritual growth. In Bible study last night we were discussing 2 Peter 1:5-7: “In view of all this , make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” (New Living Translation). Those three verses show that spiritual growth is not instant, but, is instead, a process. In this case, of adding one virtue on top of another. Sort of like building blocks. There is no such animal as “instant growth.” Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. To become the man or woman God desires requires that we take it step by step. Sometimes we will notice huge gains and other times the pace is as slow as a snail.
Whichever the case-move forward. Slowly prodding or sprinting. It is a long distance run. Just keep moving forward. Keep growing. Don’t be satisfied with stagnation or the status-quo.
No doubt the race is a marathon and not a sprint… a lifelong one.
I must ask… When reading the English translations like the NLT or most if not all others… It sounds as if the virtues stack, as if you have to gain the first before moving to the next. However, I can see in my own life and the lives of others that perhaps the growth may not necessarily be “stacked” but perhaps more like a tree with branches where each virtue is interdependent but also individually exercised and pruned as needed.
That’s a good question Ryan. I know I hinted at that with the “building blocks” remark. I’m going to have to investigate it further to answer your question. I can see value in your thought.
Hi, Bill! This message is still coming from my phone. We have our Internet provider coming tomorrow to make sure we can use our regular computers for email. Danny is finally home and on the mend. Thanks for all your prayers!
Blessings!
So glad to hear that Danny is home and doing well.
The beautiful thing about the Bible is it is the living word of God. As in all relationships they develop over time, and our relationship with God deepens the more time we spend in His word, and the more we open up to Him. God desires a relationship with us, I believe to many people miss out on how intimate a relationship God wants with each one of us, because they believe that is unattainable. Our Savior went to the Cross, to give each one of us a attainable, personel, intimate relationship with the Great I Am, the creator of all things, the King of Kings. Spending a lifetime growing in that relationship, and it a relationship that God desires as well, that is such a beautiful gift and blessing. It’s a opportunity that is well worth spending a lifetime working on, when God reveals a new nugget of revelation to you, that is a gift that you cannot find in anything else you pursue. God is truly amazing, each of us has to pursue God on our own, to see what God has for us. God promises if you will pursue Him and put Him first, He will change your heart and your life.
What you say is so true Gail. I think we would both say that you can study the Bible your entire life and never mine the depths of it. Growing is part of the life of the Christ-follower.
This passage is so encouraging, Bill. We move onward and upwards, one step, one experience, one choice at a time. Praise God that He is with us every step of the journey.
I agree Linda. Onward and upward is the only way to go and the only way worth it.