| “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’” |
| —Philippians 2:14-15 |
I’ve never been a fan of football. In fact, I thoroughly and completely dislike football. Okay, I admit it, I despise football and nearly every other sport. In spite of my strident dislike for football, as a teenager, I had the privilege of working side-by-side with one of the very best radio play-by-play announcers I have ever heard.
Floyd Henderson was the sports announcer for the radio station in my hometown where I spent a great deal of time from age twelve until I graduated from high school. Floyd would often invite me to accompany him to the press box for games and eventually encouraged me to provide some color commentary while he took a break to rest his voice a bit.
Through my association with Floyd, through my other work at the radio station, and through observing my classmates who played on the football team, I took note of those players’ generally arrogant, selfish, and extremely disrespectful attitude toward women.
There was one notable exception—a truly humble, smart, and kind young man who played center. But, he became what my math professor in college called “the exception that proved the rule.”
The qualities that the majority of the football players exhibited could never be classified as “blameless and pure.” But then, in our society today there is very little in our culture that can be considered “blameless and pure.” Even among people who claim to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, there is a great deal of impurity and plenty of places in which to place blame. This is true in my own life and may even be true in your life, as well.
The whole idea that the Christian lifestyle is counter-cultural has eluded most Christians today. But, I do see some glimmers of hope among the Millennials. While a relatively small percentage of Millennials seem interested in Christianity, those who are interested seem to embrace wholeheartedly the kinds of qualities that the Apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Christians at Philippi, as recorded in Philippians 2:14-16:
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”
Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
May I be so bold as to suggest that as we begin another day, we strive to follow Paul’s advice. Let us put aside our grumbling and become blameless and pure. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to perform His miracle of grace in our lives that will move us toward holiness. In this process of sanctification, the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us. So, let’s surrender to His leading this day and every day.
Based on a blog originally posted on Thursday, April 13, 2017
