Which SEVEN Do I Choose?

“Mom, look at that lady!”, my daughter smugly exclaimed, “she’s smoking a cigarette!” 

Her statement had caught me off guard and an uncontrolled glance in the woman’s direction revealed the ‘face of unsure’ upon slumped shoulders. She had obviously heard my child’s blatant expression of disapproval.  I quickly herded the children into the vehicle and turned and smiled apologetically at the woman.  I then explained to my daughter that our LORD deeply loved this woman created in His image – just as He loves us – yes, even as a cigarette hangs from her lips.  

“Do you remember the seven abominations that our LORD hates?” I asked my daughter (who had recently memorized that particular verse due to abomination number two!).  “Smoking is not one of them….but a proud look is”, I said.  

After this incident, I realized that my daughter’s childish retort was not an uncommon attitude among many of us…and especially myself.  This ‘religious superiority’ is what governed the lives of many of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day.  While they were quite impressive with their great knowledge of the Tanakh, their hearts were far from the LORD God of Israel. Their lives were void of The Spirit of compassionate love for others; therefore, their lives had turned away many from the very God of Love they professed to follow.  Sweet Daughters of The Most High, do any one of these seven abominations have a stake in your life?  They are not so easily identifiable without the aid of the Holy Spirit, are they?  We often cannot see what others do. This attitude of religious superiority slyly slithers its way through the cracked back door of our unguarded hearts just waiting for the opportune time to manifest itself.  Only the Mirror of the Glorious Word can diagnose these cancerous lesions in our hearts.  

What might you say your attitude reveals about your heart before a pure, just, and holy Judge?  Rather, what would HE say?  The apostle Peter reminds us that judgement begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17).  I am ever thankful that he also expounds for us the (2 Peter 1:5-11) SEVEN HOLY ATTRIBUTES that we are to diligently add to our faith for a fruitful (vs. forgetful) life in Christ: 

‘…with all diligence, add to your faith, virtue (goodness), to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly-kindness, and to brotherly-kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.’   

I don’t know about you, but I believe I have possibly been adding some wrong ingredients lately.  I can tell because what was supposed to be delicious has actually developed a wang in my attitude, ya know?   I suppose that if I would only REMEMBER these SEVEN, I would never forget!  And I thank the LORD for these BIG lessons in my life taught by the little people I love.