What Comes First

SCRIPTURE:  Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

QUOTE: To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea.
 – James Madison, Architect of the Constitution & Bill of Rights, 4^th President of the United States

THOUGHT: A chimerical idea is an illusion, something far-fetched and imaginary. Madison, with his ability to write a document that has guided our country for almost 250 years, was certain that its success relied on the virtue of its people. It wasn’t so much the document that secured what everyone wants – liberty and happiness – it was living with virtue under the document.

But thousands of years before Madison, a rough fisherman with a loud mouth was transformed by his relationship with Jesus. As he grew in his faith, he also grew in virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, affection for others, and love. He grew to the point that he could help others grow. You can see it in his life as you contrast early Simon with later Peter. He had no Constitution, he had no government to protect his rights, but he taught people that there were, in fact, things they could add to the most significant element of their faith, salvation. And he went on to say “if you practice these qualities you will never fall (v. 10).”

He had virtue without a Constitution; we have a Constitution without much virtue. Neither is an easy fix, but there is one of them that lasts, and one Madison said is an illusion.

PRAYER: Thank you for the invitation to add to our faith, virtue, oh God, and also knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, affection for others, and love. Help us grow up like Simon Peter, capable of helping others grow too.