“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 New International Version)
This is your Monday Short meditation (Smile!). When we were young kids, before doing anything else, the exception being if you had an early morning paper route; before doing anything else, we had to do our assigned chores as part of the weekly house clean-up. There were no video games or cell phones or social media back in those days, so you could not wake up and start playing in your room, undetected by parental supervision. You could not turn on your personal, private TV in your room. There was only one TV in the house, a black and white one with a great feature called an “antenna.” Nevertheless, we could not rush to watch cartoons that were part of the Saturday TV programming schedule. Cartoon watching was not an everyday option via this thing called cable TV. No, none of that was allowed. We had to do our assigned chores as listed on a piece of paper or the back of a used brown paper bag, left on the kitchen/dining room table. (Incidentally, in our house, the kitchen/dining room table was the same table.)
The first chore that we had to do was to clean-up our own rooms, private or shared with a sibling or siblings. Well, my friend, even though this is Monday, it is no different than the Saturday of days gone by. As a matter of fact, this day is no different than any other day. Your first chore every day is to ensure that your straighten up your stuff, clean up your space! Straighten up your attitude! Straighten up your thoughts! Straighten up your spiritual strength so you can resist the temptations of Satan and the enticing tendencies of the pattern of the world.
Look! When you clean-up your figurative room, the whole household will be better! It will look better, reflecting the fact that the presence of the Lord indeed in your home! Think about this and start cleaning up your space! Discard that which needs to be disposed of without hesitation. Do it now! Dispose of any bad attitudes! Determine that you will have a positive impact on the rest of the house. Have a great start to your week! Be blessed!
“Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (Ephesians 4:22-24 The Message Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King