Just a Worm

There seems to be a life theme for me every week lately. Something that God is impressing upon me. This last week's revelation was a doozie! The Holy Spirit revealed to me that I am prejudice! My prejudice was against people who claim the name Christian and live less "pious" lives than I do. Of course this sounds awful when I say it out loud...and it is terribly embarrassing to confess!
This past week I had the opportunity to meet a financial need of someone who is going through a hard time... but I actually hesitated and battled the decision because this person smokes. And in my carnal mind I began to judge this person for their habit and I came to the conclusion that the reason that they don't have the money for the things that they need is because they spend it on cigarettes. Just as I finished thinking the thought, the Holy Spirit slapped me up the side of my spiritual head!!!!
"Who do you think you are?"
All week long our family devotional time had been on 1Peter 2:17 "Show proper respect to everyone,". My attitude did not in any way reflect that I was letting God's Word change my heart. After some wrestling between flesh and spirit, God helped me to see that I was prejudice and that I had no reason to be so concerned about the splinter in my brother's eye when I obviously had a tree trunk stuck in mine!
God is so good to receive us as we are, and even better to not let us stay that way! I realized anew this week that I am just a worm; no better or worse than any other worm. I'm grateful that God sent His son Jesus to die for worms like me.
To reconfirm His lesson to me, our Lifegroup study last night was on Galatians chapter 6...
"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, (nothing but a worm that is!) he deceives himself."
(I apologize to any of my friends and family who smoke. Please forgive me for my tree trunk! I have prayed and asked God to forgive me and give me a new heart concerning my problem with false piety. I know that it stinks in God's nostrils!!!)

p.s. God gave me a joy in being able to meet the need of this person and also an opportunity to get to know them better. It is amazing how my heart changed toward this person after just spending a little time with them! If we are willing to invest a little love in our "neighbor", we will come to realize that we are all the same...just struggling and in need of God's great grace!