Remember applying for University? Each univserity stressed the credentials of their establishment and the excellence of their program. The pamphlets contained advertisements like the following: "A Institution of Higher Achievement", "Among the Top 10 in the Country", "In the top 200 of the 8,800 universities of the World", "Exceptance of the best."
If your experience was anything like mine, your heart beat excellerated and doubt clouded your mind. Would they accept me? Did I rate? Was I "good enough"? Doubts pervaded, then determination conquered. I will be accepted.
Truthfully, with an application under review, determination meant nothing, and so with baited breath your opened the letter: Accepted.
Acceptance. How we crave acceptance! We want to be accepted by people: Our co-workers, our peers, our family - and even by ourself. (Yes, we crave self acceptance, ridiculous as that sounds, why else do we tell ourselves how much better we are than others? Because we want the mirror to accept us? No, we want to feel good about ourselves.) We want to be accepted by establishments. Often we even want to be accepted by animals. Our desire to be accepted permients our lives. We do whatever it takes to be accepted.
However, acceptance is only the beginning, once accepted? Why, we want to excell! Oh, yes, to be better than everyone else. To be the best. Sadly, we choose whatever means necessary to become what we interpret to be the "Best". Whether we push and shove our way to the top, tell ourselves falicies of how our patheticnss is higher virtue, or tare others down.
(At this moment, I feel like borrowing the classic manner of addressing my audience, even though it hardly applys, being as I am female and am probably writing to female audience. Nevertheless, effect it is.)
"Gentlemen, we are
pathetic."
Yes, indeed we are. Because we are not the best? Because we care to much?
No. Because we will stoop to the pits to achieve our verison of acceptance and excellence.
(Now, I see that the apostles version of addressing the audience is much, much more effective.)
Brethren,
Ah, how We are missing the mark.
Bulldozing our way to the top is wrong, it is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit: longsuffering, gentleness, meekness..
Self-deception is equally as wrong, this too is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit: joy, goodness, temperance (aka self-control)...
Taring each other apart, dragging others down to lift your self up, is contrary to the fruit of the Spirit: love, faith, peace...
We are comissioned to "walk in the Spirit" to be "lead of the Spirit" (Galations 5).
And, we are told the fruit that will be display when this is true, is the fruit of the Spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Against such no law can stand. No political law. No social law.
Contrary to "normal" fruit, the more you excersise the actions as are the fruit of the Spirit, the more you fruit you will have. (Eating more apples does not produce fruit.)
Acceptance? In God's eyes we are accepted. There is nothing we must or can do to be accepted. We are accepted - on the merit of His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Excellence? The Program of Excellence in God's eyes is
"love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
