Pray more.
Spend more time reading the Bible.
Speak the Word more.
Give more.
Go to church more.
Witness more.
Serve more.
Praise more.
Submit more.

MORE. MORE. MORE.

The unspoken thought behind all of those "mores" is that if we will _________ more, THEN God will be pleased with us and He will bless us ... more. We'll have more peace, more joy, more money, more health, more success, more wisdom, and more approval and acceptance.

The MORE doctrine eventually wears out the faith of its followers because no matter how much you do, no matter what you say or how well-behaved you are, it's never enough.

Never enough anointing.
Never holy enough.
Never consecrated enough.
Never enough presence of God.
Never enough power.
NEVER GOOD ENOUGH.

"Never enough" leads to frustration and discouragement with yourself and with your circumstances.
We Christians are really good at starting things in obedience to the Spirit and then taking over and trying to finish, or perfect, them in our own ability and strength by making rules, setting up systems, organizing, directing, controlling, and generally orchestrating things the way we think they should be.

The enemy is sneaky. He likes to convince us that our doing is more important than our being. That's what he did to Eve in the garden of Eden, and it's the same pattern he has been using for generations. As soon as we get our focus on what we (or those around us) are doing, instead of on our being in Christ Jesus, we are stuck in the quicksand of the MORE doctrine.

Recognizing the grace God extended toward us in Christ Jesus reveals that there's nothing we can do (or not do) to change God's love for us, or His purpose in our lives. Oh, there are consequences for our actions or inaction, but that doesn't change the way God views us, or His desire to defend and protect us as long as we acknowledge Him.

"Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"

Gal 3: 1-2

Have you struggled with the MORE doctrine? Have you felt like a loser, a failure, or not good enough? I pray you find comfort in this... God loves you, accepts you, and approves of you JUST AS YOU ARE. Will you let Him love you today, or will you push Him aside and keep working, working, working to attain the elusive MORE?