While I'm Thinking About It

Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161-180 AD was a Stoic philosopher (among other things) and is reported to have said: "Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." Persecutions of Christians ramped up during his reign, though there is some question as to his active involvement in the process. Be that as it may, his statement is reminiscent of the story Jesus told the Jewish lawyer who had asked Him: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" That question was the springboard from which Jesus told the story of the "Good Samaritan" and ultimately made the stinging point to His antagonist: "This do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:28). This was a pointed answer because the Jewish "lawyers" of the time didn't actually "do" anything. They just, as my friend Charles Coil said, "polished frog hairs down to the size of gnat's whiskers." Godliness and righteousness is not something that can be practiced without doing. Not much of the "doing" can be done wearing anything other than "work clothes." In