A gift for me? No thanks I'd rather work for it.

Hello everyone. First I would like to apologize for my lengthy absence, I had been with out internet for 5 weeks or so, and I rather enjoyed it.

I had a witness encounter yesterday that left me with a strange feeling. Something was missing and after some pondering, I put my finger on it. This girl was quite content with earning her way to heaven. She had created a god in her own image that would never send someone to hell for lying, stealing, lusting or blaspheming. Don't get me wrong I see that all that the time. There was something more that left me scratching my head. This girl seemed quite content in earning her way to heaven. Why in the world would anyone want to strive for something that is being handed out freely? That was the question I pinpointed that left me with the empty feeling of our conversation.

So now that I pinpointed the question. I needed to find the answer. I reached for my 2 default answers that seem to always reveal why someone rejects Christ. #1) Pride and #1a) Love of sin. Ding ding ding, pride seemed to take the cake with this one and my defaults proved correct again. However just throwing the default answer was not sufficient for this question. I wanted to make sure The Lord agreed with me. Where do we go when we want God's opinion on something? Well The B I B L E of course. Let's see if God's Word agrees. Is pride the reason someone would rather work and labor for something that is being handed out freely?

Before we do that indulge me with this analogy. The sad thing is how content she was in her view. Not realizing how insulting it is to reject the gift and place her hope in herself was the real tragedy. Think if you sacrificed your time and effort. You poured your sweat and blood into a wonderful gift for me (by the way tomorrow is my birthday if you feel inclined to do this). You come gleaming as you present me with this wonderful gift. You say Paul, I love you brother, and that is why I sacrificed my nights for the last 3 months to give you this wonderful gift! I say, "this is wonderful, I can't just take this, please take this nickel for all your effort". Can you say insulting? Let me tell you offering your own vile goodness in place of God's blood filled gift to you is exponentially more insulting than the nickel I offered for all your labor.

Now let's get back to God's word. Is it pride that makes people want to work for something offered freely? Psalm [10 :4] says "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts." This is a good start, this person I witnessed to believes in God (probably due to evidence of creation and conscience) but yet pride will not allow her to seek God in all her thoughts and therefore she will rely on her own goodness. Proverbs[20:6] says "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" Seems by default she will proclaim her own goodness, and her pride is preventing her from seeking God. Counting on her own goodness, to meet her own standards to earn her way to heaven seem right to her because she is not seeking God. But again we are warned in Proverbs [14:12] There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. How sad so many people base their view on God on feelings and not on His word. It is so frustrating to have the key to eternal life and happiness and people not willing to take it!

The discussion ended nicely and Laura said she would think about what I told her. Let's pray her pride was working overtime while talking to her, and afterward when she was alone God's law humbled her and she cried out for forgiveness. Please pray for Laura.