Inconsistent

If you were to look at my truck, you’d see a cross on the tailgate, a cross hanging from the rearview mirror, a bible in the backseat and few Christian related material and media. Walk in my home you’ll see a few bibles, scripture and crosses on the wall and many Christian related material and media. Yet at times, I feel I should be arrested for impersonating a consistent Christian.

Galatians 2:14 - But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

  In this section of Scripture and specifically, Galatians 2:1-14 the Apostle Paul was in Jerusalem. He analyzed the situation there and realized Peter and the others were not walking straightforward. They were walking in contrary to the biblical truths in the Gospel. They were being inconsistent.

For the longest time I have been trying to figure out how others see me. I shouldn’t do this because all that really matters is how God sees me…with Love and Hope. We all do this though. It can be as simple as saying how do I look today? Or do you think I can do this? I have heard a word spoken to describe me but I never really quite believed them till I had completely fallen and was struggling to get up. That word was “Inconsistent”.

That word hit me like a ton of bricks. I lost sleep; I struggled; I even tried to put it out of my mind but it just came back…consistently. The next day when I got out of bed and went through my morning rituals, I researched the word inconsistent. “Holy Adjectives, Batman…they were right!”  I am inconsistent.

Wikipedia defines Inconsistent as: (copied right from the Wiki page):

1.       in·con·sist·ent

1.       Adjective 2.       Not staying the same throughout; having self-contradictory elements. 3.       Acting at variance with one's own principles or former conduct: "parents can be inconsistent".

I’d like to add a bullet point to that though – 4. Not walking according to God’s Word. I read somewhere that there are 3 kinds of Christians: Believers, Unbelievers and Make-Believers. We all should know what a believer and an unbeliever are but the Make-Believers influence the 2 first types with their inconsistencies.  It only takes one by the way. Most of the devastating plagues of our history were started by one person bringing it to a different part of the world. Same goes with believers, one inconsistent or disloyal believer can hurt the whole church.  In 1 Corinthians 12 and in verse 26 Paul states… "...if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." Have you ever broken a bone in your foot? The bones in your feet are tiny in caparison to other bones in your body. If you ever broken a toe or even a bone that sits on top of your foot…you limp, need crutches or a wheel chair – it affects the whole body!!! Ecclesiastes 9:18 states – “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” The verses that really got to me is in Romans Chapter 2 verses 18 thru 24: “…if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;   if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,   an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Then I looked into the why. Why am I inconsistent?  Proverbs 29:25 “The fear (pride) of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” Pride…need I say more? A friend of mine owns property in the Keystone area of Tampa. His property sits on a lake but to get to it, you have to drive down a long road because other people own property that surrounds it. He doesn’t own this road but the other property owners allow him to use this bit of land so he can access his home. When we are less than 100 % Christians, the Devil is using that same type of access road to get to us. God allows us access to him as long as we stay on the right road. We get into trouble when we are inconsistent with the access roads we travel. Inconsistent when we allow the snares in our lives free travel down these access roads. The point I’m making here is we need to guard our hearts: walk consistent to his word; and walk circumspectly. This means we watch for the snares of life and not just walk blindly.  When we see or find a snare we should look for an opportunity to honor and glorify Christ.  We must be careful where we step but walk upright and honest. I am currently reading a book about life and golf called, “The Mulligan”. As I was reading the book this morning I thought back to the time where I met a very special golfer…he was blind. I had asked him how in the world could he play golf blind. He simply explained the caddy would describe distance, hazards and set him up for the shot. Then the caddy would go out in front of him and ring a bell to help with aiming. I was truly amazed at this. Then the golfer asked if I’d like to play a game of golf with him which I refused because frankly, I’d beat the pants off him. He simply stated, “We’ll play for 100 dollars if you’d like.” I was still doubtful but I agreed. The blind golfer then said, “Meet me here at 11:00……..PM!” We all walked in the dark at one time but it’s the light of Christ that should guide us. We need to consistently walk in his steps and light.    Ephesians 4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.”