A Thursday Morning Reflection
“You can take my earthly life, but you can’t touch my soul.”
That thought hit me this morning sitting in my garage chill spot with 65° temperatures, a few clouds, little breeze, wind-chimes singing and coffee in hand. Allowing my mind to wander over all things life, triggered by music over the radio. My experiences and my beliefs.
I am leery of people who perform righteousness but don’t practice it. You know the ones. They can quote every scripture in the Bible from memory. They pray like they are personally calling fire down from heaven. They hold positions of power in church, community, the workplace, and neighborhoods and sometimes walk in mean girl clicks. They have the ears and eyes of the people. But, their tongues are split like a snake’s which is evident by the misalignment between their walk and their words.
They would rather judge others based on preconceived negative notions, point fingers and turning up their noses. Acting as if they have never done anything wrong a day in their life. Acting as if they walk on water. But, it is how they treat people that says all you need to know.
What I know to be true is quoting scripture fluently, singing beautifully, praying loudly none of that is evidence of a changed heart. People who have genuinely been transformed don’t need to put on a show of holiness and they don’t need to audit someone else’s walk to feel secure in their own.
Fruit grows outward and nourishes others. It is visible evidence of what is rooted on the inside. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And the fruits of the Spirit can’t be faked. Who you really are shows up in how you treat people.
If you are someone who has had a nose turned up at you, been judged before you were known, dismissed because of your past, your choices, your wrist scars, your story, don’t get bent out of shape about it. As the judgement of others is not your assignment.
People who are genuinely secure in their spiritual walk do not spend their time policing others. You do not need their validation. You do not need their approval. And you certainly do not need their prayers if their spirit is rooted in hatred and superiority.
At the end of the day, our spiritual lives are between us and God. Whether you are walking with God or doing something else entirely, that truth will surface, as it always does.
I stand on what I believe with all of my pounds and ten toes down. My walk is my testimony. I don’t have the time or the energy to worry about what a self-proclaimed saint thinks of me.
What I hold onto when the noise gets loud is: God Knows My Name. 🙌🏾
And that is more than enough.
Know Better Be Better w/Your 2nd Chance to Advance 