Math Problems

Are you good at math? I happen to hate it! Yes, that's right. You heard me. Math hurts my brain. I would rather write a book than perform a couple hours of math problems! At the same time, I encourage my children to excel in it. Why? Because it's a necessary and important skill to have in life. If you think about it, math is everywhere!

While I dislike math, there is one type that I am working hard to get better at. It's found in 2 Peter 1:5-7. It says, "For this very reason, make every effort to add  to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love."

Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. But it is possible with God's help. I've heard a lot of people talk about how this spiritual addition takes place over the years. Some believe that much of it has to do with how many church services a person attends a week or how many hours they spend in prayer. Others believe it has to do with how many Bible verses a person has memorized or how long they have served in a particular ministry.

While all of these things are noble and good, I believe that the opportunities to "add" to our faith occur in the every day ordinary moments of our lives. In a sense, we are performing math problems all day!

We have a chance to add self-control to our lives when we see that special item in the store that we know we can't afford but would love to buy! We have a chance to add brotherly kindness to our lives when we take a person out for lunch who needs some encouragement. We have a chance to add perseverance to our lives when we are waiting on God to answer our prayer for something he has promised us (Boy, am I living this one right now!!!).

We add to our faith by choosing God's way in the decisions (big and small) of our lives. As we do this, our faith becomes stronger and God is glorified. That's good math in God's eyes...and it doesn't even require a calculator!