How do you view the world? What is your philosophy on life? Do you know your philosophy, or do you simply follow the current trend? Is your philosophy one that has been built over years? Have you ever taken time to identify it and how you came by it?
Whether we realize it or not, we all live by a philosophy on life. Many of us do not consciously think about it. It is just how we are. We don’t question it. We don’t attempt to change it. We simply follow along, many times blindly.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:12-25, Paul gives us some real meat to chew on. In just a few verses, he lays out a philosophy for life and encourages us to follow it. His philosophy is steeped in God’s commands and guidance. I’m sure that many of us will agree with much of what Paul writes. However, I’m also sure some of us will disagree or have some heartburn with one or more of Paul’s advisements.
Agreeing with Paul’s advisement may not be our problem. In fact, for many of us, I’m sure it isn’t. Our issue is with adhering to them. We may agree we all should live in peace with one another but have a hard time doing so. We disagree with one another, or someone does something we don’t like, and peace goes out the window.
We may agree being patient with one another is good, especially when we want others to be patient with us. Yet, we struggle with being patient with others. It is especially difficult when we have instructed someone on the right way of doing things and they repeatedly do them wrong.
We may agree that rejecting evil is something we all should do. Yet, we have our favorite sins. And when we are tempted to act on that sinful behavior, we find it extremely difficult to resist. We may even justify it in our heads by reminding ourselves that Jesus will forgive us.
All these are reasons to pray every day. We need to pray for God to work in our lives to mold us into the person He would have us be. Of course, it won’t happen overnight, though God could do that. Instead, He uses life’s situations to teach us lessons and guide us to the destination He has in store for us.
I pray we all seek to follow a philosophy of life according to God’s will. I pray we read Paul’s philosophy, which came from God. I pray each one of us prays that God will mold us into the person He wants us to be. Follow God’s guidance. Build your life philosophy around His. Ask God to make changes as He sees fit in your life. Be willing to be molded by God.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Marty Pressey 