basic instructions

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. 14 And everything you do must be done with love.

Paul, the author of these verses, had a way of boiling things down to the basics.

Be on guard... iow, look out! when we least expect it, the devil is gonna fling something at us or throw some sort of temptation at us, or push just the right button(s), & wham! we've fallen into some sort of sin(s). The devil will also sneak up on us & confuse us or distract us with half-truths, lies, & craziness. So, be on the lookout for him.

Stand true to what you believe... We know what the deal is, & we know what's the right thing to do - not the thing we've rationalized to support or sinful behavior. Let's not live in denial - we know what to be & do. The questions never is what to do, but can or will we do it?

Be courageous... iow, as they used to say in the Old Testament, "Gird up your loins". Walk toward the things we fear. Walk into the things we know are a part of God's plans for us, or a part of our responsibility to Him. Courage many times isn't superhuman guts, but just the ability to put one foot in front of the other, in fear & trembling, moving toward that thing that we know God wants us to be or do.

Be strong... With God, strength is given with strength is needed. When strength is needed to make it possible for us to push through something, be something, do something, or make something happen, He supplies just enough to see us through - not too much, so that we won't think we're doing this on our own.

...everything you do must be done with love... How many of us do things our of duty, or be things out of perceived expectations? Our identity should be one that operates out of an others orientation - iow, a love & concern for others, not a "doing good" because we're supposed to.

Do I manage to exhibit all these behaviors seamlessly?

Nope.

I'm a work in progress, just like you.