Passivity (James 1:22-25)

   

Passive or Aggressive?

Most of us would say passive is best—right?  Not always!

“’The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing’, He said, ‘and forceful men lay hold of it.’” Matthew 11:12

Jesus taught that the kingdom of God must be taken by force but He wasn’t talking about physical violence—that is apparent all the way through His ministry—much to the dismay of others who wanted to be free from Roman rule!  He was talking about power, effort, initiative, and action.

The Greek words for “force” and “forceful” used in this text of Scripture are biastes and biazo, which mean “to press violently or force one’s way into”.  The same word is used to refer to “pounding of the surf” in Acts 27:41.  Think of relentless, unceasing waves as they powerfully beat upon the ocean shore.  Our lives are to be lived just as relentlessly as we persevere in obedience to God in the power of His might! (Col. 1:9-12)

Passivity is inactivity 

where godly obedience should be taking place!

So how are you doing with that?  What do you do when you are exposed to things you don’t want to do? 

Passivity is one of my biggest struggles.  I get lazy.  I am selfish.  I like comfortable—and pressing out of my comfort zone and into Christ’s will for my life is usually anything BUT!

Do you walk in...

   Discouragement?

   Depression?

   Self-indulgence?

   Procrastination?

   Various fears?

   Independence?

   Laziness?

We have talked before about the power and authority that we have in Christ Jesus.  We are called (and empowered) to be “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37).  But our enemy’s agenda seeks to render us weak, impotent and useless.

A friend of mine shared with me this stair-step progression of the spiritual life.

                                   4.  More Than a Conqueror

                          3.  Over-coming

                 2.  Growing in Christ

        1.  Born Again

We bear the image and authority of Christ on earth.  Does our walk show it?  Passivity is a form of independence and rebellion.  It feeds self!  And the flesh loves to be comfortably lazy.

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.”  James 1: 22-25

Are you a doer or merely a hearer?

Are you actively pursuing? 

Are you taking initiative for your spiritual life? 

Are you active in every area of your life?

Pursue aggressively becoming more like God!

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Click here for the other posts from my study of the book of James

I am joining The Good Morning Girls as we study James together.