"But you, man of God…. pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." - 1 Timothy 6:11
At the beginning of every New Year, many of us tend to come up with a list of plans, intentions and goals we wish to achieve in the coming twelve months. We call them New Year resolutions. The whole purpose of these resolutions is to make the coming year more productive, successful and fulfilling than the year before.
According to UK’s leading home and lifestyle magazine Country Living, the top 10 New Year’s resolutions for 2022 were…
Lose weight
Eat healthier or change diet
Get fitter and take more exercise
Spend more time with family and friends
Be more aware and take care of mental health
Sort out finances and cut back spending
Travel more
Take up a new hobby, sport or other interest
Be more environmentally friendly
Look for a new job
While most of these are good and laudable aspirations, there is something else that should be at the top of the list for every Christian and it’s found in two verses of Scripture…
"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." - 1 Timothy 4:8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." - 1 Timothy 6:6
Godliness, simply put, is God-likeness. It focuses more on inward qualities than outward actions. A godly person has a holy reverence about them, desiring God’s presence in their life, God’s approval on their activities. They desire to honour, please and reflect God in everything. To be godly or godlike in the biblical sense is to reflect the moral characteristics of God. No higher compliment can be paid to a Christian man than to call him a godly man.
As men of God, we have become God’s own and He has put His Spirit inside of us. Our life now is to be lived in alignment to God’s will and ways, so that we bear witness to the fact that we are God’s children. What a divine privilege!
How then can we actively pursue godliness? I’m so glad you asked!
Firstly, we need to recognise our need for God to be godly.
This is key. It’s Him we’re seeking to be like. We don’t just pursue Him because someone told us to. Instead, we know that it’s the very reason for which we have been created.
"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water." - Psalm 63:1
Secondly, we need to rely on help from the Holy Spirit.
He is the one who transforms our hearts and helps us to desire God as we should. He cleanses us of impure desires that go against God’s word and teaches us how to love God’s truth.
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ" - Titus 2:11-13
Thirdly, we must action the resources God has given us.
These include prayer, the word of God, worship and fellowship with other believers. These disciplines are important and practicing them regularly helps us greatly in our pursuit of godliness.
Finally, get back on track when you fall.
None of us will do this perfectly. We’ll make mistakes and we’ll fail. In fact, if we were perfect at this, there’d be no need to “pursue godliness” Lean into God’s grace and receive the strength he gives you by the the Holy Spirit.
Prayer:
Thank you Father for putting the desire into my heart to pursue godliness in this year. Daily give me the strength to say yes to Your will and to say no to ungodliness. Amen.
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