For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1v5-7 ESV
What is Godliness, and how do we pursue it?
In Titus 2v12 Paul writes that the grace of God “instructs us to renounce, ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
But true godliness is so much more than right living, it is right being. We are called to be Godly, Christ-like and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Although it may sound like a contradiction, you can be an ungodly Christian, and even a highly moral ungodly Christian. We are born again through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the remission for our sins, not by our actions.
True Godliness is more than being born again, going to church, being active in ministry, etc. True godliness is being totally devoted to God. There is a line from a Don Francisco song that says “Love is not a feeling but an act of your will”. It is the same with devotion to God. Sometimes during a worship service, or even in your own quiet time with God, you can experience a warm emotional feeling of being close to God. But that is not devotion. Devotion to God is focusing all of our thoughts and actions on the glory of God alone. Paul says in Philippians 1v21 “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
To pursue godliness, we need to keep refocusing our thoughts, attitudes and actions by asking ourselves why we are doing what we are doing. Do we put our comfort, preferences and pleasures first in our dealings with our spouses, children, colleagues, friends and fellow Christians, or is our devotion to God and His ways our primary motivation.
In Philippians 2v3-5 Paul exhorts us in this way, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
You cannot be godly and selfish. That does not mean that you become a doormat to everyone else, but you need to have both the attitude and the actions of a servant. Doing the right thing because you have to do it, is not godliness. Godliness is all about what motivates us. Do we do things to please ourselves, to win the approval and praise of others, or do we have God’s glory as our motivational force? Doing the right thing because you want with all your heart to bring glory and honour to God puts you on the road to godliness. And it is a continuing road: we will not come to the end of pursuing godliness in this life.
So often I’m grumpy, offended, selfish, and lazy. I readily excuse my poor behaviour as a product of my up-bringing, my personality type, or as just being human. I know no-one will ever reach the state of sinless perfection this side of Heaven, but there is a high calling to pursue godliness, to desire to be godly and to work towards disciplining our thoughts, emotions and actions so that we increase in godliness throughout our journey in following Christ.
When we seek our own comfort and glory we will never be satisfied. We will never have enough when we seek to fulfil our own desires. This is the wonderful paradox of Christianity; when we seek the things that glorify God alone, He has promised us that we will be fully satisfied.
“As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with Your likeness.” Psalm 17 v15
