Are you as concerned about your “holiness rating” as you are with your “credit rating”?
1 Peter 1:13-16
We all know it’s hard to buy anything on credit these days without a stellar credit rating.
Most of us will go to great lengths to protect our credit rating. We’ll do all kinds of things to make sure that we’re consistent in our payment habits to creditors. Sometimes, we’ll rob Peter to pay Paul or we’ll make payments to some creditors with money borrowed from other creditors – just to keep everything afloat and balanced. (That one sounds like our very own Ponzi scheme – which is a dangerous game to play if we ever get on that roller coaster.)
We also have to show the credit bureaus that we’re responsible and prudent with our spending by maintaining a nice “cushion” of available money to borrow against. That means we can’t run out to the store (or Amazon) and max out the credit limit on every card we have because that would show the exact opposite of restraint – meaning we don’t have any.
If we don’t do those things, borrowing money can be very expensive.
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. quote raises a question that we should ask ourselves as Christians…
Do we care as much about our “holiness rating” as we do our “credit rating”?
Like most of you, my quick answer is “Yes!”.
But, let’s dig deeper.
Like our credit rating, our holiness rating is determined by showing restraint and being timely through acts of obedience to God.
Consider these questions on the spiritual credit application…
Do you intentionally avoid situations that could harm you spiritually? For example, if a late-night party is going to include things that you know you shouldn’t be doing, do you go anyway? What about the internet? Are you avoiding things that can drive a wedge between you and God, as well as other human beings, AKA porn? What about your words? Do you refrain from degrading language that leaks into your soul and chips away at your walk with God?
I could go on and on because it’s a long list of temptations that we face on a daily basis. And surprise, surprise… they’re made to look appealing and were put here for a reason – hand-picked by the Evil One who wants nothing more than to trip you up.
And let’s be clear… he gets all excited when he causes you to stumble. Who knows, if you stumble enough, before you know it, you’re rolling down a mountain – gone forever.
There’s something else that bears mentioning and it’s sort of big thing: We don’t need to borrow a single thing to have God’s unlimited balance of grace and love. Your debt has already been paid. Jesus has filled your credit report with nothing but on-time payments and virtuous usage of your available loan balances.
All we have to do is accept His generous offer and our credit score is golden.
In today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse, we find St. Peter telling us to be mindful of our “holiness rating”. He’s saying that as Christians, now that we’ve heard the word of God, we should live in obedience. In verse 16, he spells it out very clearly – there’s no fine print in the contract.
“Be holy, because I am holy.”
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray to be reminded by the Holy Spirit when you’re faced with a circumstance that will negatively affect your Holiness Rating. Pray for strength to turn away from the things you know are wrong. Give praise to God for all blessings, not the least of which is the sacrifice of His own son, Jesus Christ, who died for your sins, so that you may live with Him forever.
And remember, don’t be lured into a mistake by falling for the low down payment and the low monthly note of sin. While it might look good on the surface, those easy payments won’t look so good when you’re staring up from the pits of hell, into the place that God made just for you, and knowing that you chose to bank with a loan shark.
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”