Even the devil can quote the bible lobster.

Im not godly at all but I do have spiritual beliefs. Perhaps what you need is a little adversity in your life or to participate in the adversity of someone elses life?
The only truths I know are the ones I learnt not the ones someone else tried to teach me. Spirituality is not something you earn, place on ashelf and bring people around to look at.

Spirituality is what you are. Its inside not outside. Sometimes the only way to really truely understand this is to sear your flesh a little... or maybe thats just me.

Many have not realized, as you seem to indicate, that holiness cannot be achieved this side of eternity. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be going in that direction. God does say, "Be holy as I am holy." He wants us to desire to be like him like a father wants his son to be like him. Like Father, like Son. Jesus was the example of how we should walk.

There is absolutely no work that we can do that will make ourselves "more holy." It has to do more with attitude. Our attitude should reflect the gratitude of what HE has done for us. Yes, God wants us to strive to do what is pleasing to him but he realizes also that we do fall short. Just a cursery reading of scripture shows you each and every biblical character had their flaws. Look at David, a man after God's own heart yet he did some really nasty things. It was his heartitude that pleased God. Yes he did wrong but he always turned back to God.

I think of that verse that says to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Many believe that means we are to work FOR our salvation when that clearly says WORK OUT. Well you can only work out that which you already have. We work out what God has already worked in. So I agree that we need to work out our spiritual muscles the same way we work out our physical ones by using them.

Instead of being annoyed, maybe you should think of them as being spiritually immature instead? We are all at different growth patterns with some growing slower than others. Those with higher maturity levels should help those that are not. Getting annoyed at a three year old is not going to help that three year old grow up any faster.

It all depends on what you think 'godly' means. "works" are often confused with godliness, which leaves people thinking they can earn that status through empty acts. Cleanliness is also often confused with godliness (for obvious reasons), but if that were the case cloistering ourselves away from temptation and shunning anything that could taint us would be the way to go.

I think you have it sewn up, frankly. God made you what you are. As long as you endeavor for your acts to be good, God will understand them. It's too easy for people to fall into the "This world is not my home" garbage and consider themselves somehow different than all the unwashed they pass by.

Don't forget that Jesus had every opportunity to seal Himself away with the pharisees and not rub elbows with the prostitutes and the poor and all the rest that were considered bad company in those days. Instead he went about His (i.e. His Father's) business. We don't see him taking great pains to be spiritually clean, He just went about His life in "clean" mode.

Look at David. We are told he was a man after God's own heart, yet he sinned, and he tended toward things the holier-than-thou of his day thought were sacrilege. He was decisive, though, and when he wanted to do something he thought was right he did it without all the Hamlet style musing over the cleanliness of his soul.

Ask yourself what kind of person devotes more time and effort to their own spiritual purity at the cost of sharing themselves with their fellow man. If you hide your candle under a bushel it will no doubt be safe from being blown out, but it will be useless to anyone else. Much better to intend good things in your life and live it fully, spending as little time cloistered away from it as possible.

Perhaps what you need is a little adversity in your life or to participate in the adversity of someone elses life?

Adversity huh? I love when people presume that truth seeking believers don't come from the funk. I suppose it's our own fault. Christians spend an enormous amout of energy tring to make everyone believe we've arrived. I know adversity well, and I agree that spirituality is not something you earn. Thanks for sharing, but don't be so quick to judge a fellow searcher.

Instead of being annoyed, maybe you should think of them as being spiritually immature instead?

Yes, because that wouldn't be judgemental. Aren't we all spiritually immature?

Ask yourself what kind of person devotes more time and effort to their own spiritual purity at the cost of sharing themselves with their fellow man.

Bakerstreet: I like this question. Perhaps that's the problem. I spend too much time trying to find all the answers and not enough time being like Jesus. Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks for sharing, but don't be so quick to judge a fellow searcher.

It wasn't judgement. I was actually sharing my own personal experience. Either way take care.  

Aren't we all spiritually immature?

Depends on who you are comparing "we" to. Paul talked of the weaker brothers in need of milk. They were not ready for meat because they were too young and immature to handle it. We see examples of those that are more spiritual than others all through scripture as well in our everyday life. Moses, Abraham, Barnabas, Priscilla, Paul, David are just a sampling. We see them make decisions that lead others back to God when they have gotten off track.

Paul was a spiritual mentor to Timothy. Priscillia and Acquilla helped Apollos out when he got off the track. Elijah mentored Elisha, Barnabas mentored Mark, Samuel was there for David as his elder etc.

We all need a Paul in our everyday life that will help us be accountable and help us in our growth process like we should. In my life I have "spirtually mature" people that help point me in the right direction. It doesn't mean that they have attained complete perfection only that they are stronger and more disciplined in their life than I may be in my own.

#1  You're fat now? 

#2  "Adversity huh? I love when people presume that truth seeking believers don't come from the funk."

Damn, Dog!  Why you diss your mom?

Trinitie

 

#1 You're fat now?

No. Just average. (The exercise analogy happen to fit)

#2 "Adversity huh? I love when people presume that truth seeking believers don't come from the funk."

Our mama is the funk!

I had no idea what Godliness meant last night. So I too wrote on/in my blog. But nonetheless. I will leave the defing of godliness open as there is no right or wrong definitiion it is just what we perceiveit to be. Thats all now check it out sometime due.

To go along with your exercise analogy I see the quest for Godliness more as preventative maintenance for your soul. Kinda like you don't wait till your car runs out of gas and it dies in the middle of traffic before you fill up. But I agree with what you said about it being unattainable but maybe obtaining it is not what matters maybe its the journey that maters and the longer you veer offcorse the further away you get from your objective. If your 1 degree off on a 100 foot journey that's not much but if you stay 1 degree off for a few miles your not going to be any where near where you want to be. The farther you go the harder it is to get where you want to go. So every now then you have to stop check your compass to see if your on course. I don't know if this helps any but that is how I see it. I hope you have a great day.

I think you're so on the right track.

Our church in Knoxville beat spiritual disicplines to death and it fed into my funkified thoughts of perfectionism and I beat myself down constantly. It's sad because words like "quiet time" and "discipline" make me shudder because they caused me guilt and pain, mostly self inflicted but I thought it was God inflicted. I do think some of it was teacher inflicted. Anyway I feel closer to God and love God more than ever now that I've come to alot of the same conclusions that you have.

God says "Be holy because I am holy" but the whole point of Jesus dying was because we can't be holy without Him! I'm not about to strive and beat myself up for what can't be attained. Why would God want that?

You're asking the right questions. It's not about how many quiet times you've had. It's about relationship as always. If I don't want to spend time with God I don't need a mental flogging I need to examine WHY I dont' want to spend time with God and I need to know that He loves me anyway.

Hard core discipline may work for some but I'm more of a free spirit, creative type personality and I've learned that my spiritual growth looks way different then that. I haven't come close to figuring it all out. We're running a race, we're not home yet and until we are we'll NEVER be PERFECTLY godly so instead of working so hard towards the impossible let's learn how to live as imperfect people who love and are loved.

We're running a race, we're not home yet and until we are we'll NEVER be PERFECTLY godly so instead of working so hard towards the impossible let's learn how to live as imperfect people who love and are loved.

Jennifer, you are so right! Thanks for taking the time to share your insight. It's good to know I have fellow strugglers out there just trying to walk through this thing called life.

Godly people are like crazy people. Crazy people don't know that they're crazy and wouldn't care if they did. Godly people don't know they're Godly, and wouldn't care if they did.

If you believe you have faith - then have faith and quit thinking about 'being Godly'. Everything else is the irrelevance of those who think they have something to say when, in fact, there's nothing to be said because there's nothing that can be said.

Tell me, do you think mountains have to pray or go to mountain bible class in order to be what they were made to be? No?

Then why should you?