Naughty or Nice?

He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” Joshua 24:23

As the Christmas myth goes, Santa Claus observes the behavior of the world’s children, maintaining a list of those who’re naught and those who’re nice. If a child hopes to receive presents for Christmas, he (or she) must behave in a certain manner all year long. That’s asking a lot of kids though – to expect that in January, they’ll be thinking of December. Still, if you ask any child who believes in Santa if he’s been trying to be good, he’ll say yes, hoping that his good behavior outweighs his bad.

Thankfully, the coming of Christ means that, if we’ve put our faith in him, we’ve been forgiven for all our naughty thoughts, words, and actions. As those who’ve been forgiven, we don’t have to worry whether our good behavior will outweigh our bad. The blessed news of the gospel is that all our bad has simply been erased from God’s eternal list, as we’re reconciled to a right relationship with him.

What does forgiveness and reconciliation mean for me? It means that I can know with confidence that when I die, that I’ll live eternally in heaven. Just like kids and Santa though, I find it difficult to be motivated by something that far away. Reconciliation to God however, means that my authentic, eternal life starts now. I don’t have to wait until I die to experience joy and peace. In faith, I can begin to know those things here and now.

This, I think, is what God was trying to teach his people in today’s Old Testament passage. Under the old covenant, God repeatedly promised that if the Israelites followed him, they’d inherit the blessed life he intended. He also promised the reciprocal as well – if they disobeyed, they’d suffer.

This is the old covenant though and now, because of Christ’s coming, I’ve lived as if forgiveness meant this old covenant is myth, like Santa Claus. If I’m forgiven, I can do whatever I want. My addiction though, has taught me that destructive behavior still has destructive consequences. In Christ, I may be forgiven and heaven-bound, but if I use drugs today, I’m going to lose my job tomorrow. Additionally, if my faith is real, it must have some impact on my behavior. Living in faith and recovery means that I must now strive to be nice instead of naughty. I don’t do this so that I may earn God’s love, but I do it because he saved me from myself. I do it because I like my new life, and I desire to continue to live in it. So, daily, as a follower of Christ, it’s still my job to do whatever it takes to abandon naughty, embracing nice.