The Lie

1 Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, ¹⁵ but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; ¹⁶ because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” 

1.1 The Task     

     Peter takes the first twelve verses (1 Peter 1:1-12) to describe the vastness of the love of God towards his people and the blessings that He has bestowed upon them, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is at this point we come into the "therefore." Peter tells his hearers that ones "mind must be prepared for action." In the Greek it says to "gird up your loins." For the modern reader this can be best understood as "pull up your sleeves," it is a sign of readiness. What does it mean, for us, to be ready for action--to be on our toes? Moreover, the even tougher question to ask is, “How do we get there?”

1.2 Preparing Your Mind 

      Being prepared is part of everyone's world, whether it is the student, the businessperson, or the stay-at-home mom. We prepare all the time for our daily tasks to be achieved in the most efficient and effectual way. For example, every night I plug in my phone, iPad, and computer to ensure that when I wake up the next morning everything will be fully charged and ready to assist me in my daily tasks. I am preparing beforehand in order to benefit in the future. Now, this seems like an easy enough task for anyone, but I propose that the structure of the spiritual life should be formatted in the same way. If the spiritual life is not separated between what is "sacred" and what is "profane" (spiritual and nonspiritual) then we cannot organize our lives around that existential falsity. Life is spiritual; all of life is spiritual and spirit-led. Our first step in preparing our minds for action will be, like organizing other parts of our life, to first evaluate what it is we need in order to be prepared. 

1.3 Examining The Soul

      The successful planner is one who knows exactly what it is that they need in order to succeed. It is the same for the Christian; self-reflection is key. We must start at self-reflection—this is where we learn what we need. Self-reflection for most Christians is a scary thing because it opens up a reality that confronts people to either change or be miserable. Jesus consistently, when dealing with people, encouraged them to self-reflect. The Apostle Paul, several times encourages the churches he oversees to examine themselves and the work they are doing in the world (2 Corinthians & 1 Thessalonians).  This process of preparing the mind starts with examining your own heart, and seeing those areas where you are succeeding and those needing development. A true examination does not involve making excuses for oneself or shifting blame to another (Making excuses as to why something in life is not being accomplished). Self-reflection involves getting down to the very heart of oneself, the place, which hurts to examine sometimes. This is not to be confused with the voice of the enemy, the accuser, for God desires to help through discipline not condemnation. The “problem” with self-reflection is that it involves being truthful with yourself, something people do not enjoy doing, especially in this day and age, as we see young people reflecting on nothing except video games or iPhones. As a society, we have learned that checking out can be fun and much less painful, but when we do this we do not only check out of pain we also check out of what is means to be human. We are beings made in the image of God, with a depth of inclination to do as he does, yet sin has stained this image. To reorient and self-reflect means to challenge sin and to progress towards His image more. I’m  hoping to be able to attach a self-reflection sheet for the use of anybody who would find it helpful for their own life. This self-reflection sheet is designed specifically for me (it was altered originally from a similar sheet by John Piper and Mark Driscoll) and helps me in areas that are difficult for me. The sheet can be reformatted to fit your life, but it will serve as a good template to start on. 

1.4 Consistency Is Not The Devil

      In talking to friends the other night, they said that they were trying to keep up with other friends in reading through the bible in a year. They explained to me their difficulties, it had to do with them feeling as though they were being religious for setting times to read the bible, in staying up with the reading. I want to crush the idea that setting allotted times to read the bible, pray, or just spend time in God's presence is religious and therefore not beneficial. Jesus, we know was a devoted Jew, one who would have followed many practices similar to what we might call "religious." He would have prayed the shema daily, read scriptures, and meditated in the presence of God. Although there is opportunity for one to be religious by doing these things, it should not deter one from setting up consistency in life. Consistency is a source of benefit in my own life. For example, Greek is a love of mine, but learning Greek involves a great deal of memorization and consistency. If I allow myself to go without re-education in the basics, I lose everything that I have previously learned. I want to encourage the practice of setting a daily time in which people read their bibles, pray, and just listen to God. Repetition has the effect of producing consistency in one’s life.

1.5 Community Is Important

     To accomplish a difficult task such as this, I would encourage people within the church community to connect and help one another. It is much easier to remember to read your bible when you have someone else to encourage you. Connect with people and ask them to help you in maintaining a schedule that promotes healthy “Jesus time.” Part of preparing your mind for action is setting up the safety nets in which, if you fail, you have those around you to help encourage you. Pick a few people that you really trust and know will not judge you; allow them to help you in this process.

1.6 Obedience and Holiness

     As Christians, we are people who desire to be holy and obedient to the will of God. How are we to achieve this and how is preparing ones mind for action tied in with holiness or obedience? Holiness is accomplished when we are living out the will of God, no longer living according to our own standards, but to God’s. Holiness is a matter of worship; when we choose to not worship God, we are sinning—therefore, not living holy lives. To not worship God means: that one knows God but still chooses to not give him honor or glory as such (Romans 1)—this can apply to any situation. The failure to worship God can manifest itself through several avenues such as: lust, greed, hate, gossip, anger, slander, murder, etc. All of these manifestations root back to the issue of worship. We must ask ourselves then, “How do we prepare to engage in a life of constant worship?”  The idea of holiness in First Peter ties back into the idea of one having their mind prepared for action. The action is the constant battle to stay in worship and connected to God—daily, hourly, every second of every day. Peter tells his readers to not be conformed to their former “passions (or lusts);” the things that used to drive them when they did not give their worship to God. Peter recognizes that the mind that is not prepared to take on the daily encounter of “passions or lusts” will not succeed in the task of being holy (or worshipping God consistently). Taking the time to organize life and prepare daily for the task of living will help Christians stay in a place of constant worship.

1.7 Conclusion

     My hope is that the reader would begin to find value in preparing for daily action. I believe that God is calling his followers to live a life of consistency in which we daily pursue his presence through scripture, prayer, and listening. The effects of this daily transformation could have huge implications for the body of Christ, because as we engage in his presence he will wholly occupy ours. May God lead us into all truth, and guide us by His Spirit daily for the work of his kingdom. Amen.