On Godliness

I have to admit that I have always had a skewed view of what it means to be godly. I have always seen people who memorize the Word and who quoted it often as godly people. And those who have an outward joy, a good attitude, and lengthy prayers as those who had true godliness. I think both of these are good but this certainly does not make you a godly person. But whenever godliness is mentioned in the Bible, it rarely is in relation to knowledge of the Word alone or outward zeal. Godliness is what God produces in you, which always results in virtue. I think the Puritans best-exemplified godliness. They had a holistic view of life, meaning that they drew no line between the secular and the sacred. Whatever they did, they did with excellence. They saw every area of their lives as an opportunity to worship God. What an amazing impact this mentality would have on our daily lives! A paper for class is no longer to appease my parents and professor but, rather, an opportunity to glorify God. Living a godly life will come by letting your theology affect your reality. If my heart and mind are deeply rooted in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” then the mundane in life will become a joy because I am motivated by love for Jesus Christ. The difference between someone seeing Christ could be the way you write a paper or your attitude when you take out the trash. It’s not always crystal clear how God is glorified when no one is looking or seems to notice but we must choose to walk by faith and not by sight. We trust that we should be “always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). Everything we do, we should do in the name of the Lord. I open the door for someone in the name of the Lord and for his glory. Christians are walking signposts, pointing people to Christ. That’s why we exist. I admit that I have not always had this mentality and I still struggle to maintain it. I have been subpar in my schoolwork and other areas. I also realize that I have spent much time memorizing the Word in the middle of classes which is somewhat Pharasaic. I was forfeiting godliness for the sake of learning how to be godly. May we realize that true godliness is found in not only orthodoxy but orthopraxy. May we strive to know our Word and live it out as we abide in Christ moment by moment.