Having Joy

Philippians 2:3ff, "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.
Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, he did not demand and cling to His rights as God. He made Himself nothing; He took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form He obediently humbled Himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross."

My worst days, are the days when I am thinking of myself. My worst days are when "I" have a schedule. My worst days are when I am thinking about me. Honestly, the scriptures tell us how to have wonderful, joy filled days; and it is not in thinking about what you want. Some of the most miserable people I know, think only about themselves. In terms that every mother can relate too, children are very selfish. My boys can be happy, playing and laughing. Then the instant things do not go their way, they are on the floor crying. I am the same way. I truly am no different than my little boys. I can be having a wonderful day. Then the instant something happens that I had not planned for, my day can be ruined.

2:13-14, "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him. In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing..."
As soon as I understand that I do not have a schedule and that my schedule is really God's schedule, my days go much smoother. I am not here to live a selfish life. I am here to live for God and His desire for me in my life. In order to accomplish this, I must be willing to get my plan interrupted. If I am working for Him; then He is my boss; and if He is my boss and He wants to change the agenda for the day, who am I to argue and complain to my boss. If I worked this way in my paying job for a man, I would not have that paying job for very long. This is how God sees our arguing and complaining. We are arguing and complaining to our boss.

When Jason comes in and asks me to do something completely different than I had already had planned; who am I to argue? Now sometimes I tell him that I cannot, because he did not know that I had something else in mind. But this does not mean that no matter what I keep my schedule. There are times that what he needs is more important than what I had already planned. If I complain and argue with my husband, I am not doing this against him, but against God. For in reality all complaining and arguing is not against humans, but against Christ. When we step back and look at it through this perspective; we may stop all griping.

As children of God we are called to a higher standard. 2:14-3:11, "You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God... I will rejoice, and I want to share my joy with all of you. And you should be happy about this and rejoice with me... We put no confidence in human effort. Instead, we boast about what Christ Jesus has done for us... I no longer count on my own goodness or my ability to obey God's law, but I trust Christ to save me..." As children of God we are to stop complaining and arguing about things "we" want. We are to be full of joy, no matter what situation we find ourselves. It is not about being happy, but having joy. Joy is that inner peace that keeps us calm and gives us the ability to see things through the eyes of God. What does He want me to do today. It really is not about me...