This is part of the series The Life That Honors God, from 1 Timothy. Check out more from the series!

Right now, we are finishing up a series, where I am sharing five different aspects of The Life That Honors God. This series, based out of 1 Timothy chapter 4 and chapter 5, is all about how to live a life that makes a difference to others, but most importantly, to God. Click on the link in the box above to see the introductory post, with links to all five aspects.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve looked closely at five different areas that Paul encouraged Timothy to excel in. My encouragement to you is to do the same thing. Take these five areas and invest them into your life. Practice these until they come naturally to you. And then practice them some more.

But as you do these five things, keep the proper attitude.

Philippians 2:3-11 says this:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Did you hear that? Let’s read those first two verses again:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Charles Swindoll tells this story about a guy named Walter in his book on the life of Esther, in the Old Testament. It’s a story that makes the point of living a life that honors God, and makes it well.

Walter went to work for the largest corporation in the world. The personnel director told Walter he must start at the bottom and work his way up, so he began work in the mailroom. Walter liked his job, but often daydreamed about what it would be like to be an executive, the president, maybe even chairman of the board!

One day as Walter was dividing the mail, he saw a cockroach in the corner of the room. He walked over to step on it. Walter heard a tiny voice crying out, “Don’t kill me! I’m Milton the cockroach, and if you spare me I’ll grant you all your wishes.” Walter agreed that was a good arrangement, and he spared Milton’s life.

Walter’s first wish was to leave the mailroom and become a vice president, so Milton granted him the wish. In fact, Milton granted wish after wish until finally Walter was the chairman of the board of the largest corporation in the whole world, with an office on the top floor of the tallest building in the whole world. Everyone looked up to Walter and he was very happy. Walter often said to himself; “I’m Walter, and I’m at the top. No one is bigger or more important than me.”

Then one day Walter heard footsteps on the roof; and went out to find a small boy on his knees, praying. “Are you praying to Walter?” he asked – after all, he was the chairman of the board of the largest corporation in the world. The boy replied, “Oh, no. No, I’m praying to God.”

Walter was quite disturbed by this turn of events, so he returned to his office and sent for Milton the cockroach. “I have another wish,” he told Milton. “I want to be like God.” And so Milton granted Walter’s wish. The next day Walter was back in the mailroom.

The way up . . . is down. The place of highest exaltation, as we see in Christ, is a place of self-emptying humility. It’s not a phony style of fake piety. It’s true humility of mind. It’s putting the other person first. It’s sharing and sharing alike. It is giving up as well as building up. It is enjoying the pleasures of another’s promotion. It is applauding God’s hand in other lives. Best of all, it is being like Christ.

The life that honors God. That’s not always an easy thing. But it’s always the right thing.

Honor God with your life.

And that will always look like Jesus. And it can only be accomplished with the help of Jesus.

I don’t know many of you personally. I don’t know where you are spiritually. But I do know this: training yourself for godliness is impossible without Jesus as the Lord of your life, without Christ being the one in control.

And so, I need to ask you this: Have you put him in that place of authority in your life? Have you given him control so that you can live a life that is more and more godly? If not, today is your opportunity to make that choice. Today, right now, is your chance to start down that path towards living lives that honor God. Because there is no way that you can do it on your own.

If you have made that choice, then that’s great. But what are you doing to take your godliness to the next level? Do you need some prayer? Some help? Some encouragement? Some direction? I encourage you to seek out the help you might need from the leaders of your church, or from a a close friend or two who are solid in their faith. I know they would be willing to help you, to pray for you, to encourage you. I would be willing to do the same.

Find someone that can help you to take the next step. And today is your day to do that. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start today.

My brother spent two weeks in Ethiopia just before Easter. When he returned home, he told me about the orphanage he was working with. He and his wife have been toying with the idea of international adoption for several years now. His trip to Ethiopia helped him to step up and say “No more excuses. We are starting that process today.”

I hope that you make a similar statement today, no matter where you are. Not about adoption. But about starting a journey with Christ, or taking it to the next level. “No more excuses. I’m starting today!”

What do you need to do to make your life more honoring to God? What’s the next step? And when are you going to take that step? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.