We have been spending time contemplating the attributes that compose the divine nature, asking how we might adopt those attributes ourselves in our quest to become more Christlike. With that in mind, today we come to the attribute of godliness. Before proceeding, let’s remind ourselves of the context of Peter’s teaching in his second epistle.

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (II Peter 1:3-11)

The first thing to note about godliness is that it exists on a continuum. The opposite of being godly, is being ungodly, or unlike God. We can move infinitely in either direction, as there is always more room for us to grow to be more like God and closer to him, just as there is always a chance for us to get further from him. Too often the evaluation of our own godliness has more to do with other people than it does with God. If I am a little better than my neighbor, that seems to satisfy me. I am faithful to my spouse, but the guy down the street cheated on his wife. I don’t eat very healthy, but my co-worker is on drugs, so thought I don’t care for my body the way I should, I feel better about myself. The list goes on. The sad thing is being better than others never helped anyone be more like Jesus. Our goal is not to be better than everyone at work, school, or church, our purpose is to be like Jesus. For that reason, we cannot divorce godliness from and striving to imitate Christ’s example and be obedient to His teaching. Another Apostle, Paul, makes this connection when writing to his young protégé Timothy.

³ If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, ⁴ he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, ⁵ and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain, ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. ¹¹ But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (I Timothy 6:3-16)

Jesus is the professor par excellence when it comes to godliness. He doesn’t just teach it, he embodies it. When I was a teenager, I would go to work with my dad during the summer. On the days he wasn’t on duty at the fire station, he would work as an electrician, wiring houses. Dad had studied manuals and taken tests to be certified as an electrician by the state. He had worked with his dad, also an electrician, as a young man. I would have loved to have seen his reaction if I had told him, “You’re doing that wrong.” Knowing him, he probably would have invited me to show him how it was done and waited for me to shock myself so he could laugh. I was not there to argue with the expert, but I could learn from someone who had studied and applied his knowledge for years.

Christ longs to take us on as apprentices, to teach us how to wire our houses so to speak. Unfortunately, we often insist that he is doing it wrong or think we know a better way. In those moments, I think Jesus is often content to sit back and let us learn from our bone-headed mistakes, to discover the hard way why his way is the best way. Jesus himself uses the analogy of construction to help us imagine what learning from him should look like in our lives.

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Jesus equates building our lives on his teaching with building on a rock. Why? Because Jesus himself is eternal and the truth he teaches is unchanging. We can ignore Jesus’ teachings and build on the world’s standards, but they are constantly shifting and changing, creating an unstable foundation. To move toward God is to simultaneously move toward the only thing that is eternal in and of itself.

This is why Paul says that godliness with contentment is great gain. No matter what loss we suffer that is placed in the balance, if we have drawn closer to God we have gained. This what David was expressing when he wrote in Psalm 65, ^“Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! (Psalm 65:4) It’s what the sons of Korah were trying to communicate when proclaimed in Psalm 84, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84:10) Would we rather be in the presence of God than out in the world pursuing our own sinful desires? When writing to the Philippians, Paul touched on the fact that the key to contentment is being tapped into the sustaining power of Christ.

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:10-13)

Paul’s economic situation changed, his freedom came and went, the success of his ministry often went up and down like a roller coaster, and the churches he planted were often full of drama. The one constant through it all was Jesus. It was the abiding presence of Jesus that propelled Paul to keep going.

For this reason it is critical that we understand that godliness is something we pursue. We read Paul’s instructions to Timothy earlier, “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” If you really want to know if you are interested in being godly, ask yourself this simple question: what are you pursuing? When we really want something, we pursue it, whether its sin or Jesus. Not too long ago there was a criminal pursuit in our area that took law enforcement through two parishes (what we call counties here in Louisiana) and ended in a standoff. Pursuits like that can be dangerous, so the fact that the law was willing to chase this guy that far tells you that they really wanted him. Catching him was imperative to keeping the community safe, and so the pursuit continued until the cuffs were on the suspect. Have we obtained righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness? There is a level on which we have, so far as those things are a gift from God. But there is another level on which obtaining those things is the process of applying them to our daily lives. Someone can give me a new shirt for Christmas and the minute I receive the box covered with wrapping paper and a pretty bow, it can be truly said that I have received the gift. But if I spent the following weeks walking around with the gift still wrapped, talking about how excited I was to have my new shirt, people would think me odd. We have been given the gift of godliness, but have we taken it out of the box and tried it on?

As we contemplate becoming godlier and so growing into the divine nature that is ours in Christ, I want us to conclude by asking three questions. First, who is our teacher? We go to financial planners because we want to prepare to retire. We visit doctors to ensure our physical health is sound. How often do we go to Jesus to receive the wisdom only he can provide pertaining to godliness? Second, are you content? The world will put you on the hamster wheel that is life and keep you running for as long as you live. You get this thinking it will make you happy, only to discover now you need that. You consume a delicious meal, only to feel hungry just a few short hours later. Which leads me to a third and final question, what are you pursuing? The beautiful thing about Jesus is that, unlike the world, he doesn’t remain just out of reach. The minute we turn in his direction, we find he is there waiting for us. The moment we make up our mind to pursue him, we discover he has already pursued us, all the way to the cross.

-Justin Simmons lives in Glenmora, LA. He is the minister of the Glenmora Church of Christ.