“Our expertise and authority can never be separated from internal renewal and personal transformation.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 30, 2022
You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? Romans 2:21, NKJV
We live in an age of experts and opinions. Sometimes these go together, with highly trained and gifted professionals giving the rest of us insight into their areas of expertise, such as medicine or politics. However, it seems to me this “expert opinion” is increasingly rare, giving way simply to opinions that you and I have about anyone or anything! Our personal knowledge, training, and experience, or lack thereof, rarely seems to impact our willingness to form a hardened opinion, or to share that opinion with the world around us.
Romans 2 cautions us against a life of self-proclaimed expertise and authority that is separated out from internal renewal and personal transformation. Sadly, even within the church, this disintegration is all too common, even amongst our leaders. A simple Google search will reveal a long list of individuals who boldly and publicly shared their opinions and beliefs on how Christians are meant to live and relate to God, while internally living at odds and opposed to the very truths they professed.
Before we shake our heads at our fallen leaders, past and present, perhaps the invitation to us today is far more immediate and personal. Examine your own heart and life, looking intently for places of disintegration and compromise. Do the truths you proclaim far and wide online and in intimate circles have a home within your own heart? For example, does your conviction that Christians should care for the poor and needy find reflection in the way you spend your time and money? Does your public passion for biblical truth match your private devotions and time in God’s word? Similarly, can your belief in “traditional family values” be discerned by your family calendar and commitments?
Before you and I are quick to share our opinions and positions with the wider world, let us today first take St. Paul’s words to heart and teach these truths to ourselves in quiet humility and intimate communion with our Lord.
Prayer
Father, help us to live and embody the truths we profess, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Examine your public and private life, looking for places of possible disintegration that need to be healed and made whole.
Related Reading
John 14:15; Ephesians 2:10; 1 John 2:3
Worship Resource
The Worship Initiative feat. Davy Flowers: King of Kings
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