Gloriously Content

Our nation has new leadership and we’ve witnessed oaths made to varying offices. I’ve thought about the seriousness of the oaths, and considered oaths I’ve made personally.  As best I can recall, the only official oath I’ve made was to Mr. Bill goin’on forty-two years ago.

 

An oath is simply a promise, a pledge, a vow – giving your word. The Puritan prayer, “To Be Fit for God,” could easily be an oath to God; here’s a portion of the prayer:  “Balance my mind in all varying circumstances and help me to cultivate a disposition that renders every duty a spiritual privilege.” Consider all we do: facilitating a business meeting, taking clothes to the cleaners, shopping for groceries, paying bills, mopping and dusting, bathing children – and, seeing every task a spiritual privilege. Most – maybe all – of what we do day-by-day is governed by our disposition.  Oh, no!  Please don’t bring up our attitude! Paul wrote, “Whether you drink or eat, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).  This isn’t a suggestion: it’s a command concerning the way of life for every Christian.  God says, do  all for My glory. The Puritan prayer concludes, “Thus may I be content, be a glory to Thee and an example to others.” How very different our dispositions (aka attitudes) would be if in all we do, we were gloriously content.  So be it, Lord!