P-B-P-G-I-N-F-W-M-Y (Part 1) -- Devotional for February 6, from "Good Seeds"

I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:6)

PBPGINFWMY -- Can you pronounce this word? Maybe not, but can you fathom it? It is a request we make of our friends, on our own behalf, to…
“Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet!”
This is a legitimate plea because it is firmly rooted in the Scripture that says God has planted His seeds in us and He has a vested interest in us. He has saved us, but He’s not done with us as yet. We’re a work in progress. Seeing ourselves and other believers this way takes a lot of the pressure to please off of us, and yet helps us to keep going, even if with tiny baby steps. But a warning is necessary in order that this entreaty not be misinterpreted or misapplied: It must not be used to coddle, comfort, or forgive ourselves in the midst of, or in anticipation of, our own bad behavior. We must not blame God’s unfinished business in molding our character for the sins and bad habits we continue to wallow in. We must say this slogan as people on the move toward growth and maturity, not as people on their duffs demanding tolerance and forgiveness from others and God, all the while making no demands of themselves whatsoever. We must have kindness in others’ troubles, but courage in our own. But we too often turn this around, expecting and demanding sympathy and wiggle room from others, while keeping the standards stiff and high for them. The whole area of self-image and self-concept has gotten a lot of attention in our modern society, and has crept into our theology as if it were gospel truth. Well-meaning but misinformed Christians can be heard saying, “We must learn to love ourselves better before we can ever learn to love God and others.” There are two errors in this self-image gospel: 1) Its understanding of love. Love, by definition, is no more or less than “Giving to the needs of others with no thought of personal reward.” By this definition, “self-love” is a misnomer, it can’t exist, it can't be done, since love means the self is put aside, taken out of the picture, for the sake of someone else. 2) Its notion that we need to LEARN to put ourselves first. Ha! That’s a laugh! Putting ourselves first is the first thing we learned to do. In fact it’s not a learned behavior at all, it’s instinctive…or, to be more biblical, it is inherited, from our first parents (who, by the way, did learn it, they “learned by doing,” when they made that lethal choice to serve and please themselves over obeying their Creator/Friend). And what do you suppose the excuse Adam and Eve gave to God sounded like? Maybe…PBPGINFWMY!