Learning to Be

This has actually been on my heart for more than a year. I think at the beginning of 2020 I was going to focus on a be quality each month but God had other plans for my year. I needed to learn anew for myself the art of being instead of doing.

Learning to Be

Let me share with you what has been on my heart. I have seen this in myself and watched others struggle. We make the big list of goals and things we are going to do. It looks impressive but it doesn’t take long and nothing happens. As I look at that, I see how the character qualities are missing.

We need to focus on character, the be, in our lives and less on the doing, the productivity. If we focus on the be, from that doing will flow our actions.

God’s actions flow from his character. God is love that is his character from that flows actions – sending Christ to die for us and loving us who do not deserve his love. God is holy and from that flows the punishment for sin. God’s actions flow from his character. Our actions also flow from our character. Let’s take time to focus on our character.

The world pushes us to do. Be more productive than last year, do it bigger and better. Make a name for yourself. “Just do it.” To quote an ad. That is one reason that it is not going to be easy.

There is also something inside me that is going to make this a struggle. I want ease and this is not going to be easy. It is going to be difficult and reveal things about myself that I don’t like.

So this is not going to be easy. We live in a world that highly values productivity. Character is not measured the same. We can count the items as we declutter and as a result, we show how productive. Please don’t get me wrong, being productive is good. But how do we measure the contentment that we have or the joy? You don’t answer the question, “What is keeping you busy?” with “I am focusing on being content.” Building good character qualities in our life is important. These will be based on what God wants from us.

Remember the Tower of Babel. There the people were going to make a bigger and taller tower than ever built. They were going to make a name for themselves. What happened? God stopped this. He confused their language so they could not communicate with one another. Why did he do this? Because they were stealing God’s glory.

Let’s not be like those at the Tower of Babel. Let’s learn to live the life that God has called us to which is to give God glory in all we do. God might be calling you to bigger and better but that is his calling and not your desire. He might be calling you to everyday muck and mundane.

I am still learning this. 2020 showed me just how much I need to learn and follow God. I am writing this for myself and you.

The Difference between Be and  Do

In our small groups, we have been studying Ephesians. Recently we were finishing chapter 4 and as I read verse 32 I paused and looked at the word Paul used, he said, “Be kind. . .” He didn’t say, “Do acts of kindness.”

So what is the difference between being and doing?

Being is an attitude while doing is an action. We do the act of kindness and we are done but when we are being kind that flows from our lives. We are being kind in our actions in our words.

Begin to think about the difference and how that impacts your life.

What can you Expect on this topic?

I plan to look at a different be topic each month. I will look at what the Bible says and consider how we can apply that to our lives. How do we see that in God? Are there Biblical individuals that display this character quality? How do we reflect this in our own lives? How do we develop these deeper in our lives?

Here are some of the topics:

• Be Ready
• Be Listening
• Be Content

With much more to come.

I am hoping to make this practical and give you resources that will help you. Give me your thoughts. I want this blog to help you.

Do you have a character quality to suggest? What would be helpful for you? Leave a comment below.

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The photo above is from a place not far from our house. It was one of the first places we went for a walk when we moved here. Going up that hill was difficult but we did it and the view from the top was worth it. In a way I think that is how Learning to Be is going to be difficult and even sweaty at times but getting to the top is worth it.