P-B-P-G-I-N-F-W-M-Y (part 2) -- Devotional for February 7, from "Good Seeds"

But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:27)

“Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet!” Once the warning regarding our tendency toward self-absorption is understood and heeded, this little slogan can serve as a very healthy way to look at ourselves. It is also a useful tool in dealing with others, for even as we ask our friends to give us a break, we need to do the same for them. (Isn’t this what the Golden Rule is all about?) Patience, with others AND ourselves, is a crucial but very difficult skill to master. The best way to learn patience is to try to view life from God’s perspective. A man tends to believe only what he can see with his own eyes, and then makes judgments of himself and others based on a very partial and biased viewpoint. God spelled this out to the prophet Samuel, almost rebuking him for seeing only as man sees, and not going any deeper. He told him, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (I Samuel 16:7). Although we will never be all-knowing as God is, He urges us to try to see the world, and the world of men, through His eyes. God treats us gently, as simple children, as wayward lambs, for “He knows our frame, that we are but dust.” Ought we not to have the same tender lovingkindness toward others – and then be a little easier on ourselves, too? The request here is for patience, not just because we are weak, but because God is at work. He has a plan for our lives and a timetable for carrying out that plan. But conflict comes when either we think we know His plan and timing, but we’re way off, or we don’t even care about His purposes for us and we strike out on our own. We must strike a balance between “being still and knowing He is God,” and being decisive and getting to work. It is the latter that today’s verse speaks of. Asking others to be patient with us, and then waiting on God to work in us, must not preclude or replace our being a proactive part of our own development. When we are young and immature we require others older and wiser and responsible for us to break us and shake us, whether they be parents, headmasters, or drill sergeants. But the time must come when we take the responsibility for our own discipline. It is at such a point where we must echo Paul’s self-talk: “I buffet my body, and make it my slave…” The only other alternative is to use the French pronunciation of this word, “I buffet (indulge) my body,” which leads to one tragic result: I become a pathetic slave to its appetites and weaknesses. So be patient, yes, but also be proactive, for God’s sake…and your own!