Tag Archives: virtue

The Virtuous Life

Read Galatians 5:19-25

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.” (Proverbs 10:9 NLT)

The Walking Dead (Season 2)One of my favorite shows on television, as I have mentioned in the past, is the show “The Walking Dead”. Recently, I have been rewatching the series with my wife, as she has never seen it before. This is actually a great way to get more of “The Walking Dead” as I eagerly find myself in the advent of Season 5, which premiers on TMC in October. For those of you who have not watched the show, but might consider watching it, no worries…I will not put any SPOILERS in this, or at least not any that truly matter.

I have found that, on my second time through the series, I am beginning to pick up on things that I totally missed in my first time through. There’s all of the same elements such as zombies (obviously), character development, drama, suspense, humor (though depending on the season, it can be sparing), and action. But, I have noticed more within those elements that didn’t necessarily dawn on me originally. That is the beauty of a well-thought out, well-written script…there is lots of depth.

One of the things I have noticed is how the characters react to circumstances off of their core values. For Rick Grimes, who’s the lead character, his core values follow a more moral and ethical code. In his career, he  was a deputy sheriff who took his job seriously and was a typically honest guy. He’s a guy who values human life, who believes in risking all to help others and believes in honesty.

As Rick and his group go through the trials and tribulations that come with living during the zombie apocalypse, his core values get put to the test. We often like to go through life thinking that there is a right and a wrong, a black and a white, an up and a down; however, in reality, there is often times much more gray and abstract areas, where the discernment process is muddled by the circumstances surrounding us. As Rick’s character develop, we see him go through periods where he is almost at war with himself because the circumstances seem to be calling him to do one thing, but his values are screaming at him to do something completely opposite to that.

In the end, because he is a values driven person, he ends up making decisions that are in line with his core values…even if his first instincts and decisions were against those values. There is a whole host of truths and parallels between this and our lives as Christians. If we are Christian our core values, by necessity, have to be in line with Christ’s virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let’s also not forget the virtues of forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. And if our core values are in line with the fruit of the Spirit, we will live our lives accordingly.

So often we allow the world to define what our core values are and that is when we find ourselves compromising on things that go against what we claim to believe. Our challenge, as the church today, is to develop the spiritual discipline to mold our values around the virtues of Christ, around the fruit of the Spirit. If we do that, we will find that those core values will, more often than not, guide us in all that we do. What are your core values and do they line up with the virtues of Christ? These are questions we, as Christians, should be measuring ourselves on a daily basis. I pray that you make this a part of your spiritual journey.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” – George Washington

PRAYER

Lord, teach me your ways so that I may build the things you count as virtue into my core values. Let me ever walk in the footsteps of Christ. Amen.

Patience is a Virtue

Read Psalm 130

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE

“Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.” (Psalms 37:7)

PatienceJust recently I finished another three-week juice fast. I had gotten to the point where I knew that my body was needing to be cleansed of all of the convenience foods I had been feeding it. In fact, in the course of a three month period, I had gained about 24 lbs. Can you imagine it? As my clothes got tighter and tighter, I started to realize that I was counteracting all of the hard work I had done over the course of the last year and a half and decided to reboot my body.

The first time I ever juiced, I got very excited as I saw the weight drop; however, there were some days when my body didn’t lose any weight and I was left there to wonder why in the world I wasn’t losing pounds when I wasn’t eating ANYTHING! How could I stagnate in weight loss, when all I was feeding my body was liquid nutrition? What’s more, there were days where I was a pound or two heavier. FOR REAL!?!?!

To say I got frustrated would be an understatement. Of course, after a few days I would lose three or so more pounds and be back to the excitement of losing the weight. This cycle went on for the duration of my entire 60 day juice fast which, in the end, I totaled a weight loss of 66 pounds.

But this time around, I wasn’t having any difficulty or frustration. Sure, there were days where I lost weight and days where I didn’t lose any, but I knew that ultimately what I was doing for my body was healthy and that my body would respond accordingly. This time around I had the patience to endure the ups and the downs, recognizing the larger picture of the health I was promoting in my body.

How often does our impatience frustrate us and stand in the way of our faith in God. Often time we wish for things to happen right here and right now, and when the results don’t meet up to our expectations we throw our hands up in the air, shake our fists, and wonder what’s the point of it all. In the end, looking back on our lives, we can easily see the larger picture that got played out; however, in the moment, we are frustrated.

In fact, I can say that it was my impatience that caused me to gain the 24 pounds to begin with. I didn’t want to have to spend two hours a night making food. I’m a busy guy with lots to do; surely, it would be quicker and easier for me to eat processed packaged food that can be made in a matter of minutes in a microwave. Well, it is plain to see where impatience led me.

Rather than being impatient, we are called as Christians to wait patiently on the LORD. While we, in this day and age, live in a culture of instant gratification, it is extremely important for us to discover the virtue of waiting…the virtue of patience. Christ calls us to have faith, to wait upon the LORD, and to trust that our life of service is WORTH IT, even if we don’t see immediate results. God sees the bigger picture. Trust in that.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.” – Brenton Brown and Ken Riley (from their song, “Everlasting God”)

PRAYER

Lord. You have instilled patience into all of us. I pray now that I may take the time that is required to do things your way. Amen.