Misguided

17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
--1 Peter 3:17-18

I second-guess everything. Every big decision I've ever made I've second-guessed. I over-analyze. We often live with an unceasing internal angst. There is a feeling of incompleteness that nags us. It drives us to constantly be evaluating where we are, what we are doing, and what needs to happen if we are ever going to be ok. It is comforting to me how misguided all of this is. It operates under the assumption that our primary need is to make things right with our surroundings--make things right with our world. If we can make things right--good relationships, good job, good etc., then we can rest. But as this passage reminds us, our fundamental problem isn't with our spouse, or co-workers, etc. Our problem is with God. Ephesians speaks of being reconciled to one another, but this is the result of being reconciled with God. If we get right with God (embracing Christ's rightness), everything else will take care of itself. (cf. Mt. 6:33) Embracing the righteousness of Christ is more than mere intellectual assent. It is a day-in and day-out appropriation to every area of our lives.