Theme: What you are adding to your life is determining who you are becoming.

2 Peter 1:3–11

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, 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.

For this very reason, 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.

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. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Life is not neutral. You are always becoming. You are either becoming stronger or weaker, better or worse, better positioned or less. There is no neutral ground.

You are the sum total of your daily decisions.

What you give yourself to, the influences you expose yourself to, and the people you surround yourself with are collectively shaping and forming you as a person.

One day becomes a week, a week becomes a month, and month after month ultimately becomes your life.

Again, who are you becoming?

The younger you are, the less you feel the seriousness of this premise. When you are young, you feel like you have plenty of time to “become” what you want to be.

The truth is that every day you are becoming who you will be.

Don’t underestimate this fact.

The movies you watch.
The posts you scroll.
The friends you choose.
The people you follow.

Each of these slowly and systematically forms you into the person you are becoming.

And the time in which we live has a reality we must be aware of. Social media and search engine algorithms are influenced by what we watch. Watch a conservative video and it will feed you more. Watch a liberal video, and it will feed you more left-wing content.

The more time you spend with something, the more it influences you.

Our world today is different than times past. Many of the influences today are manipulated by systems and marketing strategies designed to shape your beliefs, your decisions, and ultimately your actions.

They want your money.
They want your time.
They want your life.

Peter’s instruction to his readers is still relevant to us today:

“Make every effort to ADD to your faith.”

Who we become doesn’t just happen. It is the result of what we invest our time and attention into.

What you open yourself up to begins to shape you.

Be careful.
Be intentional.

And make sure you are adding to your faith the things necessary to grow and to become who you were created to be.

Otherwise, as this passage says, you will be “nearsighted” to the point of blindness.

What does that mean?

It means you become so focused on what is right in front of you that you miss the bigger picture — the eternal picture.

Don’t underestimate who you are becoming and the impact it has on your eternal destiny.

Prayer

Father, there are so many influences in our lives today. More than ever before—movies, social media, and artificial intelligence. Without Your Holy Spirit, we can get deceived very quickly.

I pray for my children to have wisdom beyond their years and understanding beyond their experiences. Help them not to get tricked. Help them not to be fooled by what sounds good or feels right.

Help them not to be seduced by the narratives of our culture.

Help them to know Your voice and grow in Your ways.

Give them courage to stand for truth even when it isn’t easy and sometimes doesn’t make sense.

Help them be committed to adding to their faith and preparing their future with You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.