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We glorify God most when we give him our very best.
So why do we accept less than the best from ourselves? Why do we allow ourselves to put halfhearted effort into some of the work we do? Why do we justify our mistakes instead of learning from them?
The primary reason why we give God less than our best is because it’s easier.
Think of the last time you wrote a letter to a friend or a business proposal for your job or a homework paper for school. Did you check it carefully for misspellings and correct punctuation? Or did you reason that it didn’t matter enough to take time to perfect the document?
Think of the last time you made a mistake. Did you blame someone else? Or did you humbly rectify it and say a prayer to avoid repeating the mistake?
Think of the last time you sinned. Did you feel remorse and decide to repent, or did you soothe your conscience by accepting some worldly idea that it’s really not a sin?
We feel very uncomfortable thinking about these things. It’s easier to like ourselves when we live in the illusion that we’re already being the best we can be, doing the best we can do. Or the darker illusion that it’s perfectly fine to be less and do less.
The truth is that we will feel far better about ourselves when we conquer our shortcomings. And an even brighter truth is that when we take our eyes off of ourselves and focus on how much we love Jesus, we discover the great joy of glorifying God by giving him our very best efforts.
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© 2019 by Terry A. Modica
It’s beautiful when you love Jesus and when you feel His love. GBY
This is beautiful reflection, its easier not to make effort, thanks for sharing. How then does one see a transformation, should it be very visible or in your ear?
An excellent, very astute question, Georgina! It is worthy of a podcast episode. I’ll put it at the top of the list for an upcoming episode. Sign up at https://gnm-media.org/ to be notified. Or if you prefer audio instead of video, sign up at https://footstepstoheaven.com/.
After attending this morning mass, I feel the enthusiasm to pursue this lenten journey with prayers. I still need the presence of God’s grace to strengthened me walking this road of holiness to God’s kingdom.