The Golden Rule

"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

By popular definition, "The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as you want to be treated. It is a maxim that is found in many religions and cultures. It can be considered an ethic of reciprocity in some religions, although other religions treat it differently." Similarly, Christians say the "Golden Rule gives us a standard by which naturally selfish people can gauge their actions: actively treat others the way they themselves like to be treated." There seems to be this assumption made that the "Golden Rule" is not only possible for people to live by, but that it was the intent of Jesus Christ that we could. No wonder other religions have variations of it. This idea that we can somehow live by the "Golden Rule" is seen in the following comment: "I’m more of a golden rule follower. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That seems to suffice." While this "seems to suffice" for this person, does it suffice to God? Just prior to giving the "Golden Rule" Jesus says, "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him (Matthew 7:9-11)!" He makes it clear that just because they are giving gifts to those they love, they are still evil. Then He gives the "Golden Rule" as a summation of the Law and the Prophets. We know some things about the Law. "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law (Galatians 3:24-25)." The purpose of the Law is to lead us to Christ. That includes the "Golden Rule" as well. We are no longer led by "rules," golden or otherwise. Christians are led by Jesus Christ. Also, James said, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10)." If we say that we are going to obey the rule that sums up the Law, then we must be 100% perfect in our obedience to it. This means in every action we do in thought, speech, and deed. Besides, who is keeping track of our ability to live this way? Do we go to our neighbors and ask them how we are doing? Finally, when Paul was writing to Timothy he said this to him: "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers - and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:8-10)." The law isn't even for Christians, but for Christians to use to show unbelievers their need for the grace and mercy of God found through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ amplified the law in order to completely bury us under the impossible demands of it. The "Golden Rule" was said during the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount. For centuries Christians have taught that this sermon given by Jesus was what I have heard referred to as the "Christian Constitution." In other words, it is assumed that Jesus was laying out the blueprint on how Christians are to live our lives when, in fact, He was doing the exact opposite. Take note of how many times Jesus says, "But I say," during His preaching. It is usually following Him stating something about the demands of the law. He uses it to say that the law commands you to do this, but I say you must do even more. For example, Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28)." It is one thing to not commit adultery, entirely something different to not look at a woman with lust in your heart. Put this into context with the popular understanding of the "Golden Rule" and you have a recipe for disaster. Of course, you most likely don't want to commit adultery nor have someone you love commit adultery against you. But, as a man, how do you honestly avoid having a lustful thought about another woman ever in life? It is impossible no matter how hard you try or how good your intentions may be. And this is just one command! There are hundreds of commands in the Law. This should cause everybody to pause and reevaluate what they believe and how they live. God is the standard by which we live if we are going to try and incorporate the "Golden Rule" into our lives.  This isn't something we determine whether or not it seems to suffice. Do you want to go before God and have Him ask you, "Did you actively treat others the way you like to be treated?" Could you honestly answer, "Yes," to this question? Would you want to have everybody you interacted with during your Christian life to have a say as to how you treated them? Both the answer God gives and the people you have interacted with will be the same; your obedience to the "Golden Rule" will not suffice. The sooner you come to this realization the better off you will be in your relationship with Jesus Christ. "Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith (Galatians 3;11).”" It should be evident that you are not living up to the Golden Rule or the law. Therefore, you will not be justified before God by your efforts. You are only justified by your faith in Jesus Christ's ability to treat you as you want to be treated.

PK's

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." 1 Corinthians 15:56

Preacher's kid (abbreviated as PK) is a term referring to a child of a preacher, pastor, deacon, vicar, lay leader, priest, minister or other similar church leader. Although the phrase can be used in a purely descriptive way, it may also be used as a stereotype. And what is that stereotype? Basically, the stereotype of a Preacher's kid, or PK, is that this person is so weighted down by the demands of their preacher father to live a "perfect" life, that they eventually rebel into an avalanche of sin and unwholesome living. It is as if the father says to their child, "I expect you to live a life you cannot live and if you fail to live this life you will be punished by me, your mother, the church, God and live in shame the rest of your life." Besides having to deal with the normal pressures of growing up, there is this added expectation that just increases the burden of living. Not too long ago, there was a pastor embroiled in a drug and sex scandal which made national news. This pastor was forced to step down in shame. Not surprising, he was a "Preachers Kid." When this scandal broke a friend of mine stated, "With what he was teaching, he needed a little sin in his life." What my friend meant was that this pastor was teaching that Christians must live the impossible life they cannot live that I mentioned earlier. This impossible life is, basically, a life of being put under the law, whether God's law or the law of a particular church. It is a life that says you must identify and eradicate all sin in your life or you are a failure. What it leads to is more sin not less. In Romans 7:7-8, Paul writes, "What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting."" Paul says that without the law, he would not have known what sin was (in this case the sin of coveting) and, furthermore, sin took advantage of the law and produced in him every kind of coveting. In other words, the law may have identified sin for him, but it did not help him overcome or prevent that sin. It just gave him more sins to think about.

Therefore, the more laws we add to a person's life, the more we arouse sin in their lives. Why? Because, eventually, a person will seek rest from living this life of trying to identify and avoid sin and will turn to sin in order to rest! In other words, it leads a person directly into the life of sin they were trying to avoid. Now, you see why Paul said the "power of sin is the law." While not all Preacher's kid's turn out to fall into a life of sin, enough of them do to the point where the Christian Church as a whole takes a hit for it. Unbelievers will use it as an excuse to turn away from Jesus or listening to the Gospel. To them, they are like, "Why should I become a Christian when even Christian's can't live like Christians?" This could all be avoided if we just realized why God gave us things like the Law. He did not give the Law as a guideline for Christians to live by in order to direct us how to live sinless, obedient lives that are pleasing to Him. He gave us the Law to show us that we cannot live up to its demands, so we would realize that we need His grace and mercy. He gave us the Law to lead us to Jesus Christ. "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (Galatians 3:24-25)." The Bible says the Law leads us to Christ. Once we are in Christ, the law has done it's work in us. It shows us our sinfulness and spiritual death. We accept Jesus Christ as savior, receive the benefit of forgiveness and life of God for all eternity. Now, we live by faith; responding to the truth of God revealed to us through His indwelling Spirit. It is not about living the burdensome life of a Preacher's Kid under the law, but receiving the light burden of Jesus Christ, which is really no burden at all. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).” Whether you are a Preacher's kid or not, if you have placed a saving faith in Jesus Christ, you are, in essence, "God's kid." Let Him live the life you cannot because He is the only one that can live it.

For the Bible tells me so

How often have you heard something like this preached to you? "To submit is to yield to the will and control of another, and, with reference to Christians, it is yielding to the will and control of Jesus Christ. This means that when Scripture commands believers to love one another (John 15:17), that is what is to be done. It means that when Scripture says we are not to commit adultery or steal (Exodus 20:14-15), these things are not to be done. It should be understood that submission, or obedience to the commands of God, is related to Christian growth and maturity, and is not related to becoming a Christian." Let me ask you a question, "How often are your actions genuine if you are responding to a "command"? Often times they are not. We may obey a command, but it is often done for one of two reasons; the promise of rewards for doing so or to avoid punishment for not doing what you're commanded. The willingness of your heart to do these things is not even a factor. Take for example the subject of adultery. If you are married, do you stay faithful to your spouse because the Bible says, "You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)" or because you love your spouse and don't want to commit adultery? Is your motivation for not stealing based on the fact the Bible says, "You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15)" or because you are content with what you have and don't want to steal? Do you love another person because Jesus said, "This I command you, that you love one another (John 15:17)" or because you are being loved by your God and bearing the fruit of the Spirit to those in your life? If we are living our lives by "commands," there is the idea, at least to some extent, that it doesn't matter if we want to or not, just that we behave and do it. Furthermore, when something is not from the heart, i.e. natural, it is not only difficult to do it is equally difficult to convince the one on the receiving end of your action that it is, indeed, authentic. Besides, what is the penalty for disobeying a command? From a worldly standpoint, the penalties for adultery and theft are obvious; destroyed marriages and imprisonment for starters. If you are a respected individual in your church, you may lose any ministry position you have, get shamed and, perhaps, even have your faith in Jesus questioned. But, what about God's opinion?

Since we are focusing on what the Scripture says, let's take a look at what God has to say about how we are to live. Regarding love, it says, "We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)." When it comes to adultery, we read, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25)." As for stealing; "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need (Ephesians 4:28)." The common thread in all of these verses is love. The love a Christian expresses doesn't come from a physical response to a command to do so, but from a changed heart stemming from the indwelling Holy Spirit of God making us a "new creation" in Christ. Scripture clearly states, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (Galatians 5:18)." A command, no matter how it is presented, is a law and Christians are not under any law; God's or otherwise. The law only stirs up more sin (1 Corinthians 15:56) and is a ministry of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7-9). The exact thing that people are saying to do, obey the commands of God, will only lead to those things, sin and condemnation, they are trying to avoid by being "obedient" to God's commands. The end result is a life of fear as you soon realize you are not obeying God and that He must be disgusted with you. But, Scripture says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (1 John 4:18)." God wants us to rest in His love and finished work, not live in fear, condemnation and expecting punishment. God did not create mankind to live in obedience to His commands. He created mankind to rest in His love and be led by His Spirit. That is why Scripture says, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10)." Love is the fulfillment of the law. In other words, love is the fulfillment of God's commands. When you are loving your neighbor, you will not be sinning with or against them because you don't want to. Therefore, among other things, you will not be coveting their spouse or their property, which means you will not be committing adultery or stealing. John 15:17 and Exodus 20:14-15 will be fulfilled because you are resting in God's love, not trying to obey His commands. And when you are not focusing on your attempts to be obedient, you can focus on God and begin to grow and mature in the knowledge of Him.

Woe to you, Hypocrites!

Are Christians hypocrites? There was a time when I was not saved that I attended my family's church. Often times after service I would see some of the ladies gathered outside the door or in the parking lot talking to each other. In most cases they were dressed in their "Sunday best." However, what I remember the most about these ladies was not that they attended church, it wasn't that they praised the Lord, nor was it that they wore their best clothes. What I remember was that when they were standing around talking to each other I could hear them gossiping and putting down other Christians. This stuck with me so much that it played a role in me coming to faith in Jesus Christ because I didn't want to be like those women; hypocrites who dressed up for church in order to praise Jesus, but exhibited anything but His influence on their lives within seconds of worshiping Him. It reminds me of the words Jesus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27)." Jesus was describing people who claimed to believe in God by what they did, but inside they were spiritually dead to Him. In other words they were unbelievers. Now, I am not saying these women were unbelievers, nor am I saying that we never fail as Christians in our behavior. But, to the average person who doesn't know this or doesn't believe in the Lord, what are they to think? Then wouldn't you know it, when I did become a believer, I would experience another kind of hypocrisy from so-called Christians. This is something that is preached all throughout the Christian church. It is this idea that Christians are supposed to live these lives of obedience and repentance; always trying to live by what is good and avoid what is evil. Regarding obedience, you may hear Christians say things like they desire to focus on, "What does it mean to live a holy (set apart) life." Repentance may be defined as, "turning from the way of life that is contrary to God’s law, and turning to the way of life that is defined by God’s law, which consists chiefly of the Ten Commandments, but includes other commandments, statutes, and judgments, as well." This all sounds godly, but it is a recipe for disaster because it illustrates how to make hypocrites.

In Colossians 1:22, Paul writes, "But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation." This eliminates having to find ways to live a holy and set apart life because through your faith in Jesus Christ, you are holy, which means set apart. Again, we are told that, "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them (Galatians 3:10).”" Therefore, if we are to turn "to the way of life that is defined by God's law," that is saying that we must turn to the way of life that puts us under a curse because we must "abide by all things written in the Book of the Law." Nobody is doing that. Therefore, you begin to see how hypocrites are created. They are created by people trying to live a life they cannot live in order to obtain the holiness of God they already have received. Or they lie and tell people they have found a way to be obedient to God when they are not being obedient. Anybody who has truly come to know the grace of God, His love and their identity in Christ, not only desires to live a life pleasing to Him, but knows that what pleases God is allowing Him to live His life in and through them because they are already holy (set apart), obedient (to the truth He has revealed to them) and have repented (of their unbelief in Jesus Christ). Otherwise, all your hypocritical attempts to live a life you cannot are only telling Jesus that He died for nothing. "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21)." Hypocrites are those living a life that tells Jesus His death was for nothing! They would rather believe the lie of Satan told thousands of years ago in the Garden of Eden, when he said to Eve, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5).” Hypocrites are those eating from the wrong tree and are not living a holy life of obedience and repentance, but are living a life which is nullifying the grace of God.

Inside Out

"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men." Titus 3:1-2

How often are Christians encouraged with words like duty when it comes to living our lives? As one author puts it, regarding the above passage from Titus, "The first two duties—submission to government and obedience to all human authority ... are just one more reminder that Christians have certain requirements of attitude and conduct in relation to their secular leaders." As the author earlier puts it, "Paul simply followed the Lord's model..." Requirements of "attitude and conduct" and following the "Lord's model" are, in my opinion, not so subtle ways in which to put a Christian under some sort of law. Otherwise, why would he say, "The first two duties"? This means there are more duties to come. It may not be a law designed to earn God's blessings or to obtain a right-standing before Him, but they are still laws designed to modify our behavior in order for Christians to somehow win unbelievers and secular society to the Lord. While there is nothing wrong with good behavior, the motivation for this behavior seems to only come from obedience to laws. In other words, God has shown you how to act so you should respond accordingly regardless of whether or not you want to do it. If we are required to behave a certain way that is a law. What if I don't live up to these requirements of attitude and conduct? Is there a penalty? Furthermore, did Paul follow the "Lord's model"? Jesus is God. God's standard of "attitude and conduct," if I am to use Jesus as a "model," is perfection. After all, didn't Jesus say, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." We can't "model" our behavior after Jesus no matter how hard we try. In fact, it was Paul who said, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do (Romans 7:15)." These aren't the words of a man who is successfully modeling his life after Jesus. Duties, requirements and modeling our thoughts and actions after a standard impossible to duplicate is trying to change our behavior from the outside in; here's a way to act now go and do likewise. That is not Christian living at all and will only end up turning the watchful eye of secular society against us as they see our hypocrisy when we cannot live up to the standards we claim we are living by.

If you look closely at the passage from Titus 3, what does it remind you of? It reminds me of the "fruit of the Spirit." "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23)." When I am receiving the love of God, He created me to receive by trusting in and relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit, I will bear the fruit that He is producing in and through me. It becomes easier to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle and show consideration for all men because the origin of my behavior is the Spirit of God loving me. The behaviors spoken of in Titus 3 are in many ways acts of love. God is the ultimate ruler and authority to be obedient to and when I am loving others the way He is loving me, then I won't have to be told how to act towards those in charge or my fellow man. My "attitude and conduct" originates from the inside out. Receiving God's love for me, through my faith in Jesus Christ, means I am at peace with Him. When I am at peace with my God then I can respond to the truth He is revealing to me and, in turn, share that with the secular world. I am subject to rulers and authorities because I am subject to the ultimate Ruler and Authority. I am obedient because I am obedient to Him. I am ready for every good deed because He has prepared the works for me to walk in. I don't malign others because He has restored Himself to me and built me up in love. I am gentle because He is gentle with me as His child. I am considerate of all men because He is attentive, thoughtful and kind towards me. That is why the scripture says there is no law which can produce these things because they come from God, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, not from the flesh, through responding to the law. 

Grace and Peace

'To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.' Romans 1:7

When we write to our friends we often start out our correspondence with simple words like, Dear, Hi, Hello or my friend. The Apostle Paul often included "Grace and Peace" in his letters. As a Christian, I believe we can easily overlook this common greeting used by Paul because we talk about grace so much that when we see the word being used it doesn't phase us. However, it is worth noting that you cannot separate grace from peace. Imagine if Paul had written, "Law and worry to you from God our Father." That carries an entirely different meaning. Similarly, you cannot separate Law from worry. To subject yourself to the Law means you have subjected yourself to trying to live a life you cannot live; a life of obedience and repentance to rules and regulations you can never fully obey. The Law's standard is perfection; "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)." The Law stirs up sin: "For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death (Romans 7:5)." The Law is a ministry of condemnation and death: "For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law (Galatians 3:10)."” The Law is for the lost, not for believers: "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine... (1 Timothy 1:8-10)." Life under the Law is a life of hopelessness. It is a life of worry because deep down in your heart you know you are not being obedient enough and you're only left with this feeling in your gut that God is not pleased with you and doesn't love you; you are a failure in His eyes.

However, grace is different. "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1)." If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, becoming born again of the Spirit of God, then you have peace with God. You have been delivered from darkness to light: "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5)." All of your sins are forgiven and do not separate you from God: "I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name (1 John 2:12)." You have eternal life: "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13)." You have access to God: "He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:17-18)." Nothing, not even you, can separate you from God's love: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)." Knowing these truths about the grace of God is what gives you peace. That peace comes from the fact that your right standing before God, your holiness, your justification, your sanctification, your entire existence comes from your trust in and dependence on what Jesus Christ did for you, not trust in and dependence on what you try to do for God. If you are worrying about your relationship with God or if you don't have one with Him at all, it is probably because you do not have peace in your heart and do not know His grace.

You Shall Not Covet

“I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death (Romans 7:10).” If Christianity had an alphabet, it would probably start with the letter “O.” The “O” would stand for “Obedience.” Many Christians believe that obedience to God proves our love to Him, demonstrates our faithfulness to Him, glorifies Him to the world and opens avenues of blessings for us. It sounds good, but is it true? The Ten Commandments are often referred to as a Christian’s guide to living the Christian life. The tenth Commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17)." Proponents of a Christian being subject to the Ten Commandments rarely mention the law against coveting. I believe this is because coveting is a silent or invisible sin. You don’t necessarily see someone coveting although it can be argued that coveting is the root cause of many sins. For example, you first have to covet your neighbor’s ox or donkey before you attempt to steal it. But, what did the Apostle Paul say about the commandment against coveting? “But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. (Romans 7:8).” The commandment against coveting didn’t prevent Paul from coveting. No, the complete opposite happened. He says it “produced in me every kind of covetous desire.” What that means is that the moment he understood the law against coveting he began to notice all the things around him that he coveted; i.e. his neighbor’s house, wife, servants, ox, donkey, etc. 

It led him to say that the commandment brought death! He realized just how sinful a person he was. You see, if you believe you must be “obedient” to God, in the sense of behaving properly, you must have a law or commandment from God to obey. However, the Bible tells us that “the power of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56).” One of the main reasons God gave us His law, i.e. the Ten Commandments, was to show us our sinfulness and need for His grace and mercy because of the impossibility of living up to its requirements. God did not create mankind to be obedient to commandments designed to get us to behave properly. No, God created us so He could indwell us and lead us from within. That is why Paul said, “we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith (Romans 1:5).” True obedience comes from faith not from responding to commandments. Instead of trying to prove our love for God we rest in the love He has proved to us. Rather than trying to be faithful to Him through obedience to commandments we cannot keep, we rest in the fact that He is faithful to us through the finished work of Jesus Christ. God is not glorified by our obedience to His commandments. He is glorified by our love for one another. Avenues for blessings are not opened up through our obedience. We have already been given every spiritual blessing from God through our faith in Jesus Christ. If there was a Christian alphabet, I suggest it should start with the letter “R.” The “R” stands for “Rest.” Rest in what Jesus Christ has done for you and not in your failed attempts to do for Him what you never will.