This is part of my year-long series exploring human-centered alternatives to the spiritual promises in Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Today’s entry, “Disposition and Deeds”, promises that Jesus Christ can “put his own disposition into anyone” through supernatural grace, claiming that disciples become “good in their motives” with Christ’s redemption creating “purity” that allows believers to “stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for God to censure.”
Here’s what waiting for Jesus to put his disposition into you and purify your motives actually delivered:
“Stop focusing on behavior modification,” his accountability partner advised with spiritual certainty. “Jesus can put his own disposition into you. Let him alter your heredity and make your motives pure. Then right actions will flow naturally from right being.”
Marcus struggled with recurring dishonesty in his business dealings—inflating invoices, misleading clients about timelines, taking credit for others’ work. The promise of supernatural character transformation through divine disposition change seemed far better than the difficult work of implementing practical accountability systems.
Marcus embraced this promise completely. Instead of creating practical accountability systems or seeking professional help for his ethical problems, he prayed for Jesus to change his disposition and purify his motives. He believed that divine heredity alteration would eliminate his tendency toward dishonesty without requiring behavioral strategies.
For months, Marcus waited for the promised inner transformation while continuing his unethical business practices. When he lied to clients or inflated expenses, he justified it as evidence that Christ’s disposition hadn’t yet fully taken hold. The supernatural grace that would make him pure in motives would eventually prevent these moral failures.
But the promised divine disposition change was ethical destruction disguised as spiritual growth.
Marcus’s dishonest patterns continued despite faithful belief in supernatural character alteration. His business relationships deteriorated as clients discovered his misleading practices, and his reputation suffered while he waited for Jesus to purify his motives from within. The divine heredity that was supposed to alter his character was completely absent when ethical choices mattered.
Meanwhile, Marcus’s colleague Jennifer approached her own ethical challenges with zero expectation of divine disposition change. When Jennifer recognized her tendency to exaggerate qualifications and oversell services, she didn’t wait for supernatural motive purification but implemented systematic accountability measures.
Jennifer worked with a business ethics coach, established clear communication protocols with clients, created transparency systems that prevented misleading practices. Her character development came through conscious effort, peer accountability, structured business practices rather than supernatural transformation.
When Marcus finally adopted similar practical approaches, he discovered that ethical business conduct required intentional systems and ongoing accountability, not divine heredity alteration.
Where was the divine disposition that was supposed to be put into him to make his motives pure? Where was the supernatural grace that would create right being leading to right actions?
The character change that actually worked came through professional guidance and systematic behavior modification, not divine transformation. The silence where Christ’s disposition was supposed to manifest revealed the truth: there was no supernatural motive purification available through redemption.
Only human accountability systems and professional ethics development that actually prevented dishonest behavior when consistently applied.
Reflection Question: When has implementing practical accountability systems been more effective than waiting for divine disposition change to purify your motives?
This story is part of my upcoming book “The Undevoted: Daily Departures from Divine Dependence,” which offers 365 human-centered alternatives to the spiritual certainties in Chambers’ devotional. Each day explores how reason, community, and human resilience can address life’s challenges without requiring divine intervention.
God or Delusion? 