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You are blessed to be a blessing, as grace takes you from where you are to where God wants you to be in life, even as you seek peace and pursue it. And who would love life, and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit? He must turn away from evil and do what is good; he must seek peace and pursue it. [1 Peter 3:10,11] Peace is wholeness in Christ having everything that God wants you to have in your life. And, if you are experiencing lack in some area, experiencing God’s peace will bring about a change in your life, making you full and complete in Christ, with nothing lacking or broken.
For, God’s grace is available to you, to make you abound in all situations, in every way, at all times. [2 Corinthians 9:8] Peace comes in you as you focus on the God of peace who is with you always; for, problems may vary in the life of each person, but the faces of those who look upon Him will never be put to shame. And He is not the author of confusion, but the God of peace. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of saints. [1 Corinthians 14:33]
Not disorder, but peace :
It is how God created the heavens and the earth. [Genesis Chapter 1] And, it is how He brings about a new creation in any man or woman even today. [John 1:1-9] It is by bringing order, from a state of confusion, and ignorance that is darkness, leading to peace and harmony within a person and without. And, revelation light that comes by the word of God, a combination of the Spirit’s working and God’s word is how it all comes about. In the new creation, it is the revelation light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ in the heart of a person.
It is the word of God therefore, that you need. As you focus upon God, to give Him first place in all things, everything else will fall into its rightful place. He is the One who needs to be lifted up and glorified, and not the person on whom God has bestowed His gift, all by His grace. It is the truth that needs to be applied in order to deal with confusion and disorder that arises in a person’s life, or in the church, even as it did in the Corinthian church. It was a gathering of believers, blessed with spiritual gifts, but in the way they applied it there was no order, and hence there was a lot of disorder and confusion and a lack of peace in their gatherings.And, Paul begins by putting forward a question to them ;
‘What is this ? !’:
‘What then shall we say, brothers ? Whenever you come together, each of you has a hymn, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, or has an interpretation.Let all things be done for edification.’ [1 Corinthians 14:26] It is an exasperated remark that comes from Paul; it is also something that you and I can sometimes identify with too. For, it can happen even in the home or the workplace, when people try to drown each other out to have their own way, to lift up themselves at the cost of another. And, it is then that even good things from God can end in a confusing problem and not peace. But, God is never the author of confusion. And, all God given gifts are good, but are given for your edification, and for others to be edified through you. It is when they are used wrongly, with wrong intentions, that they are not good anymore, but lead to disorder.
C. S. Lewis, the renowned Christian writer’s book, ‘The screw tape letters’, is in the form of interesting conversations, between a senior demon and its assistant. And, the experienced demon’s observation is that when Christians are made to apply their good gifts from God badly, it will end badly, to make them ultimately angry with God. But, the truth is that, God is a good God, who does not have anything bad to give you. Every good and perfect gift comes to you from God. But, it is when His good gifts are applied wrongly in you, or in a group as a whole, that it becomes bad. You can never blame it on God.
It is the truth that works in the natural, physical aspects of life too. Food is good; it is given to you by God for sustaining your physical life on earth. But when it is taken at the wrong times, in wrong quantities, and in wrong combinations, then it becomes harmful and bad to you. In a similar manner, physical relationship between a man and woman is a good gift from God, which is to be applied in a covenant relationship of love and fidelity, for it to be a blessing that brings peace in your life. But when godly boundaries are thrown away, and marriage becomes an unequal yoking, or just a so called ‘live –in relationship’, it is then that a good and beautiful gift from God becomes bad and disastrous to you and to others who are connected to you.
Materialism, not materials, is idolatry :
The material wealth that you enjoy in your life, are good things that the Lord has blessed you with. For, the earth and its fullness is the Lord’s; all the silver and gold on earth is His. It is not the materials that you possess, but it is materialism that is idolatry. For, what is idolatry ? It is anything that takes the place of God in your life. He needs to be first, and He alone is to be worshipped. But when something that is not bad in itself is not properly prioritized, and something that is to be used for godly purposes, ends up being worshipped as god, it leads to chaos and disorder. Money is to be used and God is to be worshipped. It is then that peace can be part and parcel of a person’s life. Misplaced priorities that leads to wrong usage, of the material wealth given to you by God, can happen due to quite a few reasons.
1. Ignorance and misunderstanding of God’s purposes :
God is a God of purpose. Your life, your work, your resources are all from God, and have a purpose attached to it. And it is when you are ignorant of it, or misunderstand it, that you end up abusing it, instead of using it for His glory. The people of Israel, in the Old Testament are a good example. Why did God choose Israel ? It was not because they deserved it on account of something that they had done, or something special that was in them. It is when God chooses you that you become special. And, there is always a purpose to it, when He chooses you. God chose Abraham, that he may be blessed, to become a blessing to others, that he would become the father of many nations.
It was through God’s covenant with Abraham, that his descendants became many; and the people of Israel became His chosen people, and treasured possession. They were privileged to be chosen by God, to play a very important role in God’s plan of salvation for the whole world. It was God’s purpose for Israel. Sadly though, they misunderstood the purpose and became arrogant and proud. They went to the extent of thinking that they were the privileged few, and all others were created by God, only to be used as firewood for hell’s burning fire ! Today, in the liberty of the new covenant, you and I are God’s chosen people too, His Israel, through the Cross of Calvary, enjoying the privilege of calling Him Abba Father. We deserved hell, but God’s mercy did not give it to us; and His grace has given us everything else that is good, blessings that we do not deserve.
And, there can be two kinds of responses to it. One group of people, are happy to receive God’s blessings, and enjoy it for themselves, with maybe some gratitude and thanks unto God. But, there is another group of people, who do not stop with receiving the blessings that come to them from God, but also ponder to ask themselves, ‘Why have I been blessed by God; what is the reason underlying it ?”. In other words, they are the people who look for the purpose in God blessing them. And, when you are such a person, you will always be a part of the solution, and not a part of the problem, or chaos. It is when you understand that there is a purpose for which you are blessed by God; an understanding that reveals God’s vision and accompanying provision in your life.
Vision and pro –vision ! :
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions..’ [Joel 2:17] It is the promise of God that Peter proclaimed in the Upper Room, on the Day of Pentecost, to inaugurate the days of the New Covenant, the church. And, today in your life He gives you provision for the vision that He gives you through the Holy Spirit, which reveals the purpose for your blessing. His vision for you is to be a blessing to others; it is the purpose for which you are blessed ! It gives meaning to all your provision that comes from Him, driving away all confusion from within you, to experience and walk in His peace. For confusion is not from God. It is inevitably the devil, who brings division, one that destroys your peace.
The tabernacle or a golden calf ? ! :
It was the division that came in the minds and lives of the Israelites, even as they embarked on their wilderness journey, liberated from the bondage of Egypt. They were laden with silver and gold as they departed, a miraculous provision from the Lord, for the Egyptians parted with all of it willingly; and there was none feeble among them.But it was all for a purpose, that would soon be revealed to them by God through Moses. There was a tabernacle to be built, and God had very elaborate, intricate specifications concerning how it was to be erected. And it was in the middle of nowhere, in a barren desert land where there would be no means of finding all the materials and resources that would be required.
It was the reason why the Israelites left Egypt, with a miraculous provision of health, wealth, and strength. God is a God of fore knowledge, not afterthought. He is the God of providence, who has provided all that you will ever need in your life, even before you were born. He has a perfect plan for you; therefore, do not worry or be anxious about what may come up in the future, the troubles and temptations that you may have to face. For, when you have the understanding regarding His purposes for you, you will know that whatever it is that comes to trouble you, He has prepared a way of escape, given you the strength to withstand and overcome, to come out victoriously as His purposes are fulfilled in your life. But, when they were ignorant of the purposes of God, the people and Aaron in the wilderness chose to build a golden calf instead, to indulge in idolatry, a pagan worship that was repulsive in the sight of God.
It is a classic example of God given resources used in ungodly ways, unconnected from His purposes, leading to problems and not the blessing and peace of God. It also has to be remembered that to some the provision comes first, followed by the revelation of His purpose for it, while to some God first unveils His vision, His purpose for their lives, and then at the right time, His provision comes. Whatever may be the case, you can find peace, and rest in the truth that His care and provision will be there until the very end. It is when you are ignorant, or do not understand His purposes, though you have His provision, that you end up embroiled in problems and losing your peace. To build the tabernacle of God, or make a golden calf is the choice that you need to make; it will determine whether disorder or peace becomes your experience ! There is another reason why some people get it wrong in life. It is when their prioritization is not in the right order.
2. Placing resources above relationships :
Even billionaires end up in despair and confusion at the end of their lives, as it is too late by the time they realize that the precious relationships they have let go in their climb to the top, can never be replaced by luxury, power and all that money can buy. They may have got what they wanted in life, amassed a lot of money, but they die lonely, as their heart cries out, ‘I have got it all, but I have nobody’. It is only godly relationships that can satisfy your longing, and give you peace at the end of your life when eternity draws near. The world may advocate getting by hook or crook all the material wealth and possessions that you think you need in life. Whereas, the truth of life is that, a relationship with God in Christ Jesus is the primary need of a person. Man has been created for relationships; with God and with other people, in ways that are pleasing to Him.
Love God, love people, and use things, is the divine order that will bring peace in your life. But when you end up loving things and using people, you may have a short burst of pleasure as you may get what you have gone after, but it will all end in what seems a meaningless waste to you, or vanity as King Solomon very aptly describes it all to be. He had many so called relationships of course, a thousand wives for that matter, but had drifted away from the one primary relationship that man needs, which is a relationship with the Almighty God, through Jesus Christ His Son, and the indwelling of His Spirit.
‘Everybody is in it for themselves’ maybe the creed of the world around you, but you and I need to march to the beat of a different drum that says, ‘We are in it for Christ’. Confusion comes in your life when ‘self’ becomes the focus, the determining factor in all your decisions, to either leave God out of the picture completely, or keep Him somewhere in the outer periphery of things ! Self centeredness and selfishness, the focus on the ‘self’ is the sin that brings confusion and chaos in you.
How can change happen in such a scenario ?
It will come as you return to the Lord, asking for His peace to dwell in you, in all areas of your life, that you may be a channel of His peace in the lives of others around you. And, He will surely do His work of grace in you and through you to make it all come to pass. Both, pride and the other side of it which is self pity, or an inferiority complex, are ‘I’ centered, but it is Christ who needs to be the center and be glorified above all, in the use and application of the good gifts that come to you from God for the presence of peace and not disorder.
Called according to His purpose :
And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. [Romans 8:28] It is when you are connected to the purposes of God, that what is from God, will come together to cause what is good in your life, and in the church, the gathering of saints. It can never happen, if you are connected to your own selfish purposes, for then you are connected to the devil, and peace will be far away. It was what was happening in the Corinthian church, when in spite of people receiving spiritual gifts from God, there was a lot of disorder. And, this was the situation that made Paul lovingly chide them saying, ‘What is this ?’ !
Personal agenda results in self promotion :
And self promotion becomes needless and unnecessary when you are connected to the purposes of God. For, the God who has given you your gifting , will also at the right time , in the right way, and in the right place, give you the opportunity, to use your gifting for the glory of God, and for the edification of people. Exaltation comes from God, as you keep yourself humble under the mighty hand of God.
Humbling yourself is what you do; and the God who sees you in secret, will reward you in the open. It is the promise of God. You do not have to resort to marketing your gift, in the guise of needing to use your gift. For, it is not manipulation or marketing, but the manifestation of God’s power that you need in the use of your gifting. You do not have to sell yourself, when God has given Himself for you ! And He will lift you up in a way you have never dreamt of, for He who has promised is faithful.
Self promotion leads to public display :
Any person, when he resorts to self promotion will try to orchestrate or create a right atmosphere by his own self effort, in order to make his gifting visible in the public eye. And, it can lead to an atmosphere of confusion that is totally devoid of genuineness and honesty. For, how much ever you try to artificially work up an atmosphere, it would still be a pretense, and one should never forget the fact that the best bit of acting is still acting ! Fasting, praying and the giving of alms are all spiritual disciplines prescribed in the word of God. It is the manner in which the Pharisees chose to do it, as they indulged in a public display of it, is what the Lord expressly forbids. They serve as an example of people who do something that is spiritual and godly, in an ungodly fashion.
A cynical and critical attitude :
This is what can creep into a person who resorts and depends upon self promotion. Being needlessly critical and cynical about the people and things that are happening around him will be a defining characteristic in him ! Multitudes of people, both big and small came to listen to the Lord as He taught. And, the ordinary, simple people who came, may have wandered off in their minds now and then, but in the end they went home edified, for they received the teaching of the Lord, with the right attitude.
The Pharisees who came, on the other hand, listened extremely sharply to every word that He spoke, only to test Him or be critical about what He spoke. There are people like that even today, who even in the best of things can find some fault or the other. And this can never lead to an atmosphere that is constructive, for the love of God builds you up, and never tears you down.It is so vital therefore to always be God conscious, to His promptings, and not be self conscious, in the application of your spiritual gifts, in order to be fruitful and blessed in serving the Lord.
Serving God with spiritual gifts :
We have been given different gifts according to the grace that is given to us, Paul explains in his letter to the Romans. [Romans 12:6] It is all by His grace that we receive our gifting. And the word of God also teaches that it is to be used to bring glory to God, and be a blessing to people, and in the process you are greatly blessed. This is the key principle, the standard operating procedure for applying God’s gifting in your life. It is all about God, others and then you. This explains why peace is lost when people try to put themselves on a pedestal, because of their gifting !
Gifting is for giving :
As a gifted child of God, you are called to be wise for others and not cunning for yourself. Therefore, your gifting from God needs to be employed in giving to others, to be a channel of blessing in the lives of people. It is not about ‘getting it all’ for yourself. If you have been blessed with extraordinary cooking skills, teaching skills whatever it may be, it has been given to you that others maybe blessed and edified through you.When you look at the fellowship, in the Trinity, you will see that it abounds in peace and harmony, because they operate in the principle of ‘giving’. God so loved the world that He gave… The Son gave His life on the Cross in love … The Spirit who dwells in you, when you become a child of God, keeps giving to you as the Helper … And therefore, when you are in the kingdom of God solely for ‘getting’ there is going to be a problem !
Grace to me – for you ! :
If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God given to me for you. [Ephesians 3:2] Having experienced and practiced it in his life, they are the confident words of Paul; and it needs to become yours and mine too. Your gracious gifting has been given to you, for others. It is your gifting that makes you special, and you are called to make others special through it.Paul explains the truth, having followed it in his life, and reaped the rewards. But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all; yet it was not I, but the grace of God which was with me. [1 Corinthians 15:10] And, when this principle works in your life, then no matter where you are peace will be yours. Also, God has placed you where you are, that you may be a channel of peace.
Seeing the big picture :
Your gifting is for others to be blessed; and therefore you need to know where you fit in. Every piece in a jigsaw puzzle is important for the picture to be complete. No part of the puzzle is unnecessary. We need each other. Interdependence is the truth of God’s kingdom. God has distributed His gifts according to His good pleasure. And, when my gifting is beneficial to you, and yours is to me, and in a similar fashion we all come together as a church, we will be beneficial to the entire community where God has placed us. It is how a marriage relationship also can be a fruitful and blessed to bless others. The husband and wife need to come together in interdependence, to complement each other, and not compete.
God focused and other centered :
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself . Let each of you look out not only for one’s own interests, but also for the interests of others. [Philippians 2:3,4] It is how it all works out in your life. You need to have the mindset that was in Christ, for He did it all on the Cross, that you and I may receive all that we need. On the Cross, He paid it all, and above all, He thought of you. It is why He is the Prince of Peace; and blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called the children of God. It is how peace comes to you. And, your God given gift has to complement another’s, to see completeness and peace in the church as a whole.
Will people then take advantage of me ?
It may be the question running through your mind, a valid one at that; or you may have already experienced it. What happens when people take advantage of your goodness ? God Himself will then become your advantage. And you will end up getting something better. There are people who scatter and become prosperous; but people who withhold end up in poverty. Stingy people stink ! It is good to remember that giving is embodied in the triune God; and the Holy Spirit is in you giving to you continually even now. But He is your Helper, and not your servant. God is not mocked. No one can take advantage of Him. And He is continually helping you, counseling you, because you constantly need His help ! Therefore, if someone has taken advantage of you, God is saying to you even now, ‘I am going to put it back in a greater and more glorious manner’.
‘For your edification’ :
Again do you think we excuse ourselves to you ? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things beloved for your edification. [2 Corinthians 12:19] Paul here establishes the right motive that needs to be in you and I too. He states with clarity that his words are not to prove that he is a good guy. But, before God in Christ, he is doing all things for the edification of others. And, when you apply this truth in your relationship with God and with other people, peace will be a part of you, and you will be a channel of peace, for the blessing of God to flow through you.
Grace given to you – for others :
It is the truth of God. May it become your experience in life as you receive understanding of God’s purposes and God’s ways, to know that you are blessed to be a channel of blessing in the lives of other people, that peace like a river may flow in and through you. And, may His grace enable you to seek the interests of others, to use your godly gifts to bring glory to God, to be a blessing to others, and even to yourself, as you entrust it all into His loving hands, that He may be glorified, and others may be edified.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
