Wednesday, October 9, 2013

A reputation of living well

I have a thing for Proverbs. I try to read one each day in my quiet time, the chapter matching the date. So since it's found in Proverbs 3 I'm assuming I came across this verse last week on October 3. That evening I was thinking about that chapter I had read that morning, and I started looking through different versions of it on my Bible app on my phone. The way this verse is worded in the Message stopped me in my tracks, and I haven't been able to forget about it yet.

Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people. -Proverbs 3:4

Living well.
I started wondering-what does that mean exactly?

Is it the way we eat? Our church attendance? The way we treat the people who drive us the most crazy? (You know who I'm referring to...)
Is it spending 8 hours a day in deep prayer and study of God's Word? Is it organic everything?

I guess it could be a number of those things, if that's what God has called you to. I think "living well" looks different to each of us because we've all been given different spiritual gifts, different callings. I'm in that place too, where I can hardly define what it means to "live well" in God's eyes- and to do it so well and so consistently that we earned a reputation for it. Because let's be honest I can have a good day every once in a while where I can go to bed at night with a smile on my face and think...I think I loved my husband well today, I didn't even complain about the fact that he appears to be incapable of putting the throw pillows back on the couch after he's sat there (it's a thing). But I'm guessing that eventually I'm going to be tired or grouchy or hangry (anger induced by severe hunger) and I'm going to say...honey I love you more than life itself but for the love of all that is good can you please just put the darned pillow back where you found-it just once! (Clearly I've thought this through a little too much...)
And that's not really building my reputation. Reputation is legit. It's what you are consistently, not just on a good day.

So here's what I've concluded "earning a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people" looks like for me personally.

It's living in His Presence. Not just a good quiet time and a prayer before each meal a day. It's lingering, staying, dwelling in His Presence. Because everything else that I want to do well (glorifying my God, loving my husband, being a good daughter and friend) they will all be added unto that. Because Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." So seek Him I will. That I may earn a reputation of living well.

1 comment:

  1. I think that is a great way to see it. Often we put Webster's definition on certain subjects concerning what God truly means - when we just have to ask the creator what He wanted us to get from it, I definitely think seeking Him first will give you a great reputation ;)

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