“Is what I’m doing making a difference?” I ask myself this
question a lot and I’m sure some of you do as well. I know that I am created
for something more than myself, but is the way I am spending my time really
making a difference in the world? James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to
keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
If I were to
paraphrase this verse, I would say “A relationship with God that is genuine
entails looking after the broken and hurting and guarding yourself against
losing focus on what’s important.” We are all created for relationships;
primarily a relationship with our Creator. We love God because He first loved
us (1 John 4:19) and out of that love for Christ comes our love for one
another. This is when the caring for the broken, hurting, homeless, orphans,
widows, etc. comes into play without us even having to really think about it.
This is what Tascha and I are called to do in Kenya.
The second half
of this verse is the hard part though. “Keep oneself from being polluted by the
world.” Think about it. The movies and TV shows we watch, the music we listen
to, the people we are around. There are a ton of things in this world buying
for our attention and if we are not careful, they will win us over and distract
us and could permanently pull us away from what God has called each and every
one of us to do: love the least of these.
Over the next
week, take inventory of what you watch, listen to and the type of people you
hang around. If what you are spending your time listening to, watching or doing
is not honoring to God (or you wouldn't do it if He were physically standing
next to you), then I challenge you to find something that is pleasing to God.
This might be listening to Christian radio, not watching things with vulgarity
or sexual scenes, or maybe even making some new friends. I guarantee you, your
relationship with Christ will improve and so will your focus on what is really important.
