Posts Tagged: responsibility for our moods
“Being a Good Companion to Myself”
“If you can’t stand being by yourself, don’t inflict your presence on others.” (Source unknown, but it’s not me!)
My affirmation for yesterday was as follows:
“Today, by God’s grace, I am thinking a little more clearly, running a little faster, working a little harder, speaking a little more kindly, and enjoying my life a little more.”
However, I did not do well with living out the affirmation. I was cranky and unappreciative and hard to be with, especially late in the day.
The excuses for why I was so out-of-sorts don’t matter. Even if there were reasons, that doesn’t matter much. The hard fact of the out-of-sort-ness itself is the main thing. I am responsible for my moods. I am also responsible for not spreading my crankiness to everyone or anyone else.
I am reminded of what a great twentieth-century writer of spiritual devotionals said. “Moods don’t go by praying; they go by kicking.”
So, today, I am kicking my bad mood to the curb. That’s where the trash is picked up. I will not inflict my internal garbage on others today. Here is my affirmation for today:
“Today, by God’s grace, I am acting out being a person with whom I want to spend time. Since my self is with me everywhere and all the time I go, this is a good plan. This will also make me nicer to be around for others.”
The Apostle Paul writes to believers about how they are to live. The verbs for how Christ-followers are to act are all in the present tense in Greek, which emphasizes continual, ongoing action. Here is what Paul says:
“Eph. 4:25 ¶ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Eph. 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph. 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Eph. 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Eph. 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Eph. 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Eph. 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Eph. 5:1 ¶ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice.”
The truly Christian life is not an experience or a spasm. It is a daily and lifelong commitment to a Christ-like way of living.
I hope that you are in a kind mood—as opposed to kind of a mood—today, dear Reader. However, if you’re not in a kind mood, straighten up and fly right! There is no place for cranky-butts in the Kingdom of God. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17, English Standard Version)
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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