Living By A Different Standard

In summary of Ephesians 4:17-19 it says, "Paul tells us with the insistence and the Lord’s backing that we must no longer live as the crowd does; empty-headed, mindless, futile and with the confused hopelessness of their thinking.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God provides because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts against him.  They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself.  They have no sense of shame, having lost all sensitivity, they live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed."

Bottom Line:
Paul tells us with insistence and authority that we should no longer live just as the crowd (world) does.  The crowd (world) has wandered far from the life that God provides, they have hardened their hearts against him.  They have refused for so long to deal with it that they have lost touch with reality, accepting self fulfillment and selfishness as the norm, thus giving into lustful pleasures, impurity and greed.

What this means to me..
God wants me to live a different kind of life.  Paul is tells me with a sense of insistence and backing from the Lord that I am to no longer live like the crowd or world does (confused and now hopeless in thinking.)  It’s easy for me to get off track if I’m not having regular time with him.  If I began to ignore God and forget he is part of the picture then I too would end up having a hardened heart and pursue self fulfillment as my goal (this is just natural for me.)  This would eventually lead to believing that lustful pleasure, impurity and greed are normal and ok.  I need to remind myself and keep vigilant as I know that this is easy for me to get to, especially in absence of being reminded daily of the life God wants for me.  It is important for me to continue to pursue a different kind of life from the norm.  God wants me to engage and understand his will by reading his Word and listening for his promptings.  Doing so I learn to live by a different standard.  When I put this at the forefront of my thinking and live my life this way I can make a difference in the world around me.  Today I ask God to use me for his purposes and to make a difference for others and to protect me from the lies of the enemy which makes pursuing self fulfilment sound so good.