1 And that’s about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don’t mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don’t mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry—so here goes. 2-6Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book. (Philippians 3:1-6 – The Message)
Doing God’s work without the involvement of the Spirit is like a dog that only barks and has no ability to bite. We can spend a lot of effort in doing many good deeds, where we are satisfied and happy, but the impact can be minimal. Paul has an impressive credentials in many people’s eyes, but he sees them as trash as he did not do it for Jesus. He was doing what he thinks is right, according to his standard and judgment. But those deeds may not be pleased in God’s eyes. We may also fall into the same trap. We spend a lot of time doing things that we think we should do. A lot of time, those deeds will bring no harm to others, and sometimes it may actually do some good to others. It seems like we are on the right track. But God does not care much about the result and he cares more about the motivation and process. Regardless of what we do, if we are doing it with God, it would please Him. Let’s learn to co-work with God and experience His guidance. So, we will not fall into the trap of spending all our energy in something that God has not burdened us to do and end up having no more energy to do what actually pleases God.
“The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it.”
