I Peter 2:9-11
“Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.”
“Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary resident and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul”
In what ways does the modern Christian indulge their ego at the expense of their souls? How does ‘ego thinking’ permeate our thoughts? What activities supplant time with God? How hard do we work at finding time alone with him in our busy lives? All these questions deserve honest thinking and prayer that God’s Spirit would illuminate our thoughts. Even then, our capacity for self-delusion contaminates our efforts. Peter’s statement may seem simple, but it is not easy. It all comes down to focus. Is the Lord the center of our desire? If so then he will lead us in his direction, gradually reclaiming our thoughts, releasing us from our ego. When we keep our heart leaning in his direction he will faithfully and gently free us from this world and prepare us for that to come.
Lord, thank you a million times for continually easing me away from my life of sin. Please keep me facing in your direction, thinking from your perspective. Give me your heart and actions to match. May they never become a source of pride. Keep me humble before you, ever needy of your grace and power that the same may infuse my life and assure my presence in the center of your will.