Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Doing all things without grumbling or questioning is totally counter cultural. We live in a grumbling culture. Moaning helps you to fit in at work and it sometimes seems like there's something wrong if we've got nothing to complain about! It's funny to think that not moaning is one of the things that will make us stand out, shining like lights in the world!
There should be a noticeable difference between the lives of Christians and unbelievers - but that's not that Christians get everything right. It's more about how we respond to our own failures. Because we see our own sinfulness and know we have been forgiven through Jesus death, we are assured of God's great love for us meaning we have less (or nothing!) to moan about. Even though we are guilty, we are made blameless and innocent because the blameless and innocent one died. As this starts to change our hearts, we are honest about our failures, secure in God's mercy, and live in a different way. This should stand out in the middle of a crooked and twisted generation which is desperately trying to hide it's faults and failures and pretend it's got everything together, searching for acceptance from others doing the same thing.
There should be a noticeable difference between the lives of Christians and unbelievers - but that's not that Christians get everything right. It's more about how we respond to our own failures. Because we see our own sinfulness and know we have been forgiven through Jesus death, we are assured of God's great love for us meaning we have less (or nothing!) to moan about. Even though we are guilty, we are made blameless and innocent because the blameless and innocent one died. As this starts to change our hearts, we are honest about our failures, secure in God's mercy, and live in a different way. This should stand out in the middle of a crooked and twisted generation which is desperately trying to hide it's faults and failures and pretend it's got everything together, searching for acceptance from others doing the same thing.