On page 163, he begins the chapter off by writing,
Doing good things does not automatically turn us into good people. Spending hours in Bible study, witnessing regularly, avoiding worldly amusements, and generously giving time and money to the Lord’s work are godly things to do, but they are not sufficient in themselves to produce deep change.
Dr. Crabb goes onto say that
Exposure is no easy matter. The deceitful character of our heart helps us believe that things are quite a bit better than they really are. No matter how sincerely we want to identify the wrongs in our life, we still have a hard time seeing the subtle way a demanding spirit infects our style of relating. (pg. 163)
OUCH!! That hurts. Under the heading of SEEING OURSELF CLEARLY, Larry Crabb writes
We must learn to evaluate the things we do and say as we interact with people to see where the disease of demandingness has spread. … The sole value of an inside look is measured by its helpfulness in moving us toward greater love, both for God and for others. (pg. 165)
This comes after he writes,
In speaking to the Pharisees, Christ ruthlessly exposed the sinfulness clothed in their fine speech when He said, “How can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks … But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words, you will be condemned” (Mathew 12:34, 36-37).
The point is clear: If we are to love genuinely, we must first pull up the evil root of self-protection in our sinful heart: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). (pgs. 164-5)
Instead, we must work hard at being a Christian, for
The Bible is not a vending machine that reliably yields the product we request. (pg. 174)
The God that I worship requires something more than that. He requires that humans will be like His Son according to 1 Peter 2:21. That is the heart of God which is to be like His Son who is already in heaven waiting for the proper time from God the Father to rapture His church.
Click on the links to find music to go along with this:
TrueLifeChristianity.com 