Descent – February 28, 2024 (67/365)

Disclaimer: You may not want to read this one.

There’s a call to devote ourselves to the Word, and to the Truth.

Envy can be allayed by our reading and going deeper into Truth. Today’s Daily Bread entry brings us to Proverbs 14:30, and 1 Peter 2:1-3, 9-10.

Solomon is pretty straight to the point, sharing the while peace ministers to our flesh, envy goes deeper into us, to our bones: A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.1 Peter 2:1-3

Peter tells us that the obvious solution is to ‘put’ envy away, along with malice, deceit, hypocrisy and slander.

I feel as if these all come together. In the case of anyone feeling envious, he or she does not care if, by being envious against someone else, he or she slanders without any care, spewing out malicious words, deceitful statements, to the point that he or she would come out as hypocritical.

Envy on its own is ugly, but it comes against us and others, complete with its ugly friends. Imagine willing to sabotage yourself and others when you fall into the comparison trap.

To quote the writer: “Envy is an easy trap to fall into. It feeds on our deepest vulnerabilities, wounds and fears, whispering that if only we were more like so-and-so, we wouldn’t be struggling, and we wouldn’t be feeling bad”

Moving on with what Peter has to say: What does he suggest to do for us to put away this ugly, worldly tendency? “long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation”

There’s that one story of two wolves living inside of us, and the wolf that wins is the one we feed. Peter makes no mention of our not feeding the envy, but he does remind us of what we should long for, and what we should consume – ‘the pure, spiritual milk.’; That is, as elaborated in the Book of Hebrews, “the basic principles of the oracles of God” (5:12), and “the elementary doctrine of Christ” (6:1)

Considering the reputation of milk versus meat in Hebrews, I feel as if Peter is trying to tell us something else here: By milk, we ‘grow up into salvation’… which, to me, means that Peter is speaking to folks who have yet to get INTO salvation, or at the very best, understanding it.

This tells me that until we have a solid grasp regarding the salvation we have through Christ – that is, until we long for and take in the pure, spiritual milk – Envy and all its friends would have such a hold over us.

The lengths of how Peter talks about the salvation we do have through Christ spans at least 10 or so verses after his warning against envy… and he delivers such an exclamation point in this set of verses that we’ve also been brought to remember and appreciate:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.1 Peter 2:9-10

Remembering Christ is, and who we are through Christ – THAT’S what we need to do when we find ourselves vulnerable, wounded, and fearful.

When envy whispers to us that we wouldn’t be struggling or feeling bad if we were more like someone else, we need to remember what Peter tells us is applicable to ALL of us in Christ – That is, we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..

No matter what we feel at any given moment, Christ paid such a great price, for us to understand that we are not just ANY people, but GOD’s people. 

I used to think that all my talk regarding Christ and His finished work was all redundant… but now I’m thinking to myself that in this day and age, considering all we face coming from the outside in, and all we’re struggling with from the inside out… It’s just natural for us in the body of Christ, to go back to Christ.

Not that He ever left, that is. And it’s not like we’re never without Him… but I feel like we need Him now, more than ever.

It’s all in line with what we talked about recently regarding giving. Last post, I wrote about giving, and ended up presenting a case regarding how we prioritize fellowship and the Word and prayer, before we help each other out in giving.

Nowadays it seems we don’t just run to Jesus for special cases and unique circumstances that don’t have their own entry in the Manual of Operations – No, it feels as if we need Him now more than ever – that is, in EVERYTHING.

And I suppose we’re to be brought to the realization that even before we conceived the thought of our needing Him in everything, He already WAS with us through it all… and will always be with us. Such is His faithfulness.

In these times, and even as I’m rambling now, and literally forcing all of this out of my system, may we all come to remember, that even when we forget, God remembers. Whether we remember to cast all our cares upon Him, or are too blindsided by anything and everything we face in this reality, let us never forget that the Truth whom I said we ought to be grounded in at the onset of this message – Well, He was thinking of us first.

He was faithful to us first.

He loved us first.

He thought about us first. Despite all we insist is important to us in our own minds, He is always thinking about us.

In all the questions that remain unanswered, we may be sidetracked, and we may be condemned by others even during these clueless moments for not making Christ first… But I take solace and peace in the Truth that even if we don’t place Him first, He already IS first.

I’m sorry, I thought I’d have something cohesive here… turns out I’m just rambling. It may have started good but as you can see it all spiralled into this chaotic mess. But even in this wilderness, in my defeat, let me just proclaim… just so we have some sort of lesson here: In my defeat, Christ is victorious.

I said it at the start: There’s a call to devote ourselves to the Word, and to the Truth.

Maybe it all starts with me.

Ave Christus Rex.

God bless us all.

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