"Be cute or die"

Dallas Willard wrote something profound in the "Smothered By Slogans" section of his book, The Divine Conspiracy, on page 12:

... popular sayings attract because people are haunted by the idea from the intellectual heights that life is, in reality, absurd. Thus the only acceptable relief is to be cute or clever. In homes and on public buildings of the past, words of serious and unselfconscious exhortation, invocation, and blessing were hung or carved in stone and wood. But that world has past. Now the law is "Be cute or die."... the particular "message" doesn't matter.

In the next section he adds:

Jesus offers himself as God's doorway into the life that is truly life. Confidence in him leads us ... to become his apprentices in eternal living. "Those who come through me will be safe," he said. "They will go in and out and find all they need. I have come into their world that they may have life, and life to the limit."

Take a moment to think about the wonderful invitation and reality in Christ of living a truly meanfulul life.

The Galatians Tree

Paul's letter to the Galatians represented, graphically, as a Tree.

Faith Additives - Charity

"...add to your faith...charity" - 2^nd Peter 1:5b,7b(KJV)

Peter tells believers their faith still needs something to be successful. ¹ He ends the list with "charity", the Greek word "agape" (ah-gah-peh), meaning a selfless love expressed to those around us.

There is an old poem:

To dwell above with the ones we love...
Oh, that shall be glory!
But to dwell below with the ones we know...
Well, that's a different story!

Love is not a feeling for someone gone or far away, it's kindness done to a bad neighbor, to the co-worker who just threw us under the bus (you know what I mean), and to the teen with a bad attitude".

Not automatic but something to be added, if we can't make our faith work enough to be kind to these people our faith isn't really working at all.

¹Faith Additives

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Faith Additives - Brotherly Kindness

"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness;...for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" - 2^nd Peter 1:5-7a,10b(KJV)

Faith needs additives¹ to remain healthy. "Brotherly kindness" is listed as essential to avoid fruitlessness, barrenness, and falling.

Judge Judy, on her popular daytime television show, told a plaintiff suing her own sister for something done to her husband, "In ten years you probably won't have this husband, but you'll still have your sister, be kind to her!"

You don't choose your physical family and you don't choose your brother's in Christ, either. You won't get away with cheating them² and they will be with you for eternity; be kind to them!<sup>3

1</sup>Faith Additives
²A Good Healthy Fear of God
³Galatians 6:10

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Faith Additives - Godliness

"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;...for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" - 2^nd Peter 1:5-6,10b(KJV)

An essential additive for longevity in Christ is "godliness". It literally means "devoutness" and "piety". It is the same word the apostle Paul used when he wrote, "Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness" (1^st Timothy 4:7 ESV).

"I'm not religious, I'm a Christian", has been said by many to mean faith in Christ is not a dead religion but a living relationship - that concept is true, but being irreligious or irreverent is a pitfall.

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” - 1^st Timothy 4:8 (New Living Translation)

Like physical training (exercise), godliness (piety) doesn't happen naturally; it requires choice, repetition, and effort. Choosing to go to church regularly, choosing to pray and read the Bible daily, choosing to show godly respect publicly as well as privately exercises our faith. Like exercise, the more it is done the easier it becomes and the stronger we grow.

Adding godliness to how we live will keep us from being unfruitful and barren, and will keep us from falling.

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Faith Additives - Patience

"...Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge And to knowledge temperance to temperance patience;...For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ...if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" - 2nd Peter 1:5-6b, 8, 10b (KJV)

Faith needs additives¹ to encourage growth and Peter lists seven (7) with the promise if they are present the believer will never fall, nor be barren and unfruitful.

Peter uses a word meaning "cheerful endurance" as a required addtive to self control. Sometimes we endure because we must, but cheerfulness in that endurance is always a choice;

Endurance with a bad attitude isn't patience, it's just being stuck, and
bears little fruit. Those who add cheerful endurance to self control will see difficulties turn out to be a blessing for themselves and those around.

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Faith Additives - Temperance

"...Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge And to knowledge temperance;...For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ...if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:" - 2nd Peter 1:5-6a, 8, 10b (KJV)

Faith needs additives¹ to encourage growth and Peter lists seven (7) with the promise if they are present the believer will never fall, nor be barren and unfruitful.

Temperance (Self control) is the balancing character for seeking experiential knowledge. We are to exercise self control in our consumption, recreation, and relationships.

"A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out" - Proverbs 25:28 (Message Bible)

We need to heed godly warnings² . Hot-headed self-centered boors are unattractive even if they do believe in Jesus!

Instead of praying for God to help us loose weight, have more friends, or be a better witness, maybe we ought to ask God to help us develop self control³ .

"...It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities"- Proverbs 16:32b (Good News Bible)

¹ Faith Additives
² Spiritual Teenagers
³ Asking The Wrong Questions

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