Less of me and more of Him!

Daily I am reminded that I am not perfect. I say and do things that are not pleasing to God or to man. I don't mind so much not pleasing man, but the thought of not pleasing God really bothers me, and it should. You see, more often than I'd care to admit, my mouth jumps ahead before I think. I react to situations and people in a way that is not characteristic of how a follower of Jesus Christ should act. I intentionally and unintentionally respond in a way I am not proud of.

Why do I do this? Well, I continue to ask myself that question. When you know a better way, why do you choose to do the wrong thing? After a lengthy discussion with my husband tonight, I once again am reminded that life is not all about me! It's so very nice to know that my husband treats me like it is, but I know better. Every time I mess up, I make a conscious decision to go against what I've learned in God's word. I choose to decide on my own what is best! What the best words are, what the best reaction is, what the best decision is. Now, as a Christian I am supposed to have the mind of Christ, so... what I say, do, and how I react should be like Christ. Unfortunately it doesn't always work that way. At least not in my life. Because unfortunately, I don't always listen to that still, small voice of God and obey what He's telling me to do, but think Joan's way is better. And sometimes it does "feel" better to do things my way! Ha, I'm old enough now to know that you certainly can't count on your "feelings" to guide you the right way!

Anyway, I said all that to say that as a follower of Christ who knows there is a much bigger agenda than I can even comprehend, I must be aware of how my words, my looks, my actions and my reactions affect people for eternity! It doesn't matter if I am so right about something, but say it in a way that turns everyone off from listening to the truth I am telling. Just me being right doesn't help anyone if I can't convey that truth in a way that they can relate to and understand.

My prayer tonight is that I will strive to become like the one who convinced others to believe in Him, not by just His words but by His Life! I want to be more like Jesus!