Ignoble Purposes

“In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work…and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Tim 2:21-22

I can go around my house today and identify more articles of senseless purpose than those of noble purpose. We fill our houses with both useful and useless articles in hopes for a life being more purposeful, convenient, and fulfilling. We surround ourselves with senseless ‘things’ to fill the vacuums in our lives.

Our heart home is no different as we store up our fear so we can pull it out when needed. We know just the right time when that bitterness needs to be brought out and served up fresh. Through Christ our hearts are made up of precious righteousness like gold and silver but many times we must dig through the rubble to locate these items of noble purpose. The word ‘ignoble’ means dishonorable and contrary to the high standards of conduct expected of somebody. Oh, how I do not want Christ to see this laying around. I know that through allowing Him full access to my heart He can clean it up, call me to His usefulness and purpose just as He will in all of our hearts.

We are told to pursue righteousness which infers that we must work towards this goal putting aside anything that could hinder, delay or deter. Righteousness does not come naturally to our sinful nature but by actively and passionately pursuing those noble qualities we will not be of ‘ignoble purpose.’

Our behavior will follow the pursuit of our hearts.