⁸ … be helpful, wise, fair, reverent … This is how all of us must be like.

I struggle with “wise, fair, reverent”. God should’ve known what humans are like and that it is in our nature to go off course. Yes, it’s easy when things are going well, but when things don’t go the way we want them to, that’s when we don’t act that well.

Yes, that’s the way it goes, but we can’t ever use that as an excuse. We should rather see it as a challenge to do the right thing, especially when the going gets hard. Even if we fail, we must get up and try again next time and again and again until we get it right.

I realise more and more that we have all been affected by the fall. It made our natural inclination – the thing that we always fall back on – badly influence us.

We get upset when someone cuts in front of us. We become outraged when people say things that hurt others. We’re furious when we say do this, and they do that. And then we behave badly …

How can we change our natural inclinations? How can we act better, more and more? Even when things aren’t going the way we want them to?

Four of us, friends since school, went to visit another friend who stays in Australia. For three weeks we were naughty school boys again and toured the East Coast right up to the Barrier Reef.

It was so much fun to tell one story after the other. We swam in the ocean and in a farm dam. We sat for hours in a jacuzzi discussing the present and wondering about the future.

We went to bed late, and got up piece by piece in the mornings – our bodies no longer used to going all out like young boys. One said he wished we were young again. Yes, I said, but then with all the wisdom of life that we collected along the way.

We all agreed that would’ve been a great combination.

I realised that this is how we should change our natural conduct. We need a big bag of wisdom to act right all the time. The wisdom that we collect along the way.

We get it from our parents and from fellow travellers on the road. In God’s Word and spending time with Him and walking with the Holy Spirit. We have to open our eyes to all the people placed to help us collect more wisdom for our bags.

In this way, we can change our natural behaviour bit by bit until we start behaving wisely in all circumstances.

Scripture
Titus 1:6-10

Reflection
Among which people or in which circumstances do you tend to throw wisdom overboard?
What do you think you can do differently next time to behave wisely in any circumstances?
Why do you think God instructs us to behave wisely in all circumstances?

Prayer
Father, you know all my bad inclinations! I don’t want to make a joke of this or try and justify it. I want to confess each and every one before You. I am guilty. Thank you for making me completely new when I confess my sin. Please help me do it differently next time. I ask this in Jesus Name. Amen.