How to shine like a star!

"Do everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." (Phil. 2:14-15)

This promise starts off with a command to do EVERYTHING without grumbling or complaining. That's a tall order, actually, because "everything" means, well, it means EVERYTHING! And, that includes a lot of possibilities.

Small and large! 

It includes little things like traffic annoyances, or someone being a little rude to you on the phone. And, it includes big things, like major automotive repairs, dealing with difficult family members, being pulled over for a traffic violation, or even having to work for a difficult boss.

 Blameless and pure!

But this command comes with a wonderful payoff promise: "so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.'"

 You stand out!

When you live a self controlled life, and you resist the temptation to react negatively to life's difficult and challenging situations, you STAND OUT from the crowd, many of which are part of "a warped and crooked generation".

Here is the beautiful promise for your positive reaction to life's negativity: "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." That makes it all worth it! And, that's a great promise to aspire to!