“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
NUMBERS 18-20
2Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”6Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7The Lord said to Moses, 8“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”9So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.12But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”13These were the waters of Meribah,a where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(20:2-13)
JOURNAL
Tradition versus true obedience and love is the issue at hand in this passage. Jesus calls out the Pharisees for missing the heart of the message. They honored God outwardly while their hearts remained distant. I see this reality every day in life and in myself. How often are my actions done simply out of habit or because I am going through the motions? This seems to be part of the human condition. Habits can shape us toward goodness, or they can quietly lead us toward destruction.
When I was in high school, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People became widely influential and introduced a new framework for changing behavior. It began with a powerful paradigm shift that we can choose our actions. The first habit, Be Proactive, established the foundation for everything that followed. I believe this idea echoes what Jesus was teaching. We are not trapped by routine or tradition. We can choose obedience to God instead of blindly following rules simply for the sake of appearance or compliance.
Our minds and bodies naturally rely on habits, yet those habits are not permanent. They can be reshaped. However, if change is driven by selfish ambition or human pride, it ultimately leads to emptiness and destruction rather than transformation rooted in God’s love.
Some people might see this shift as dangerous because it requires questioning inherited patterns and confronting motives of the heart. In truth, it is the only path toward genuine transformation. When we ask why we behave the way we do, we move beyond external performance and into the condition of the heart. That is what God ultimately desires. He is not seeking perfected rituals but surrendered lives.
Paul’s words in Romans capture this calling clearly. We are invited to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. True worship is not conformity to religious patterns or cultural expectations. It is the continual renewal of the mind. Through that renewal we learn to discern God’s will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Tradition versus true obedience and love is the issue at hand in this passage. Jesus calls out the Pharisees for missing the heart of the message. They honored God outwardly while their hearts remained distant. I see this reality every day in life and in myself. How often are my actions done simply out of habit or because I am going through the motions? This seems to be part of the human condition. Habits can shape us toward goodness, or they can quietly lead us toward destruction.
When I was in high school, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People became widely influential and introduced a new framework for changing behavior. It began with a powerful paradigm shift that we can choose our actions. The first habit, Be Proactive, established the foundation for everything that followed. I believe this idea echoes what Jesus was teaching. We are not trapped by routine or tradition. We can choose obedience to God instead of blindly following rules simply for the sake of appearance or compliance.
Our minds and bodies naturally rely on habits, yet those habits are not permanent. They can be reshaped. However, if change is driven by selfish ambition or human pride, it ultimately leads to emptiness and destruction rather than transformation rooted in God’s love.
Some people might see this shift as dangerous because it requires questioning inherited patterns and confronting motives of the heart. In truth, it is the only path toward genuine transformation. When we ask why we behave the way we do, we move beyond external performance and into the condition of the heart. That is what God ultimately desires. He is not seeking perfected rituals but surrendered lives.
Paul’s words in Romans capture this calling clearly. We are invited to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. True worship is not conformity to religious patterns or cultural expectations. It is the continual renewal of the mind. Through that renewal we learn to discern God’s will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.
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