Behave or Bear Fruit?

The leaves were falling in 1976 at Horace Mann Elementary in Iowa City IA. I was a fifth grade pain in the posterior to a student teacher from the U of Iowa in our English class. It was a mess. 

In a stroke of brilliance, my dad came up with the solution: a stealth visit.
He actually came into the class secretly and sat behind the portable chalkboard to observe the behaviour that was being reported to him.

It was a brilliant ambush.

My dad could not believe that a grown man could not control a fifth grader.
Well, he got an earful. It was all true. I had even perfected the martial art move of breaking any hold that the teacher put on me. Boy was i surprised when Papa confronted me (later on at home, thankfully). He expertly questioned me about the class and how things had gone that day. Or course,... i walked right into the trap:) Took the bait right along with the hook.

My face found a new shade of red when he let me know that he was a witness to the one boy three ring circus that day.

Years later, I am thinking about the word behaviour. I'm wondering: God wants us to behave, right? BUT He also wants us to bear fruit. So do we behave and then bear fruit?...or do we bear fruit through good behaviour? Is behaviour a priori?  Please God?  

My observation is that most people see pleasing God in direct proportion to their behaviour. And isn't it true that our behaviour wants to become primary in our relationship with God?
And we judge ourselves by our daily behaviour? We feel good when we are behavin'---we feel bad --guilty--buy self help books --when we are misbehavin'?

It is true that God is concerned with our behaviour---but isn't God more concerned with the root of our behaviour?  Keep asking WHY regarding a poor past behaviour...until you come up with an answer that has to do with your own personal choice.  Then, give yourself a good kick in the posterior.  Let me know how that works.

So what is the best way to position yourself to behave differently?

It seems plausible that Fruit bearers have actions inherent in their fruit bearing that strengthens character and changes their taste for sinful activities.

Maybe...if we concentrated on bearing fruit--we would behave better. 

Jesus said: "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples". Maybe as we concentrate on bearing fruit: our default settings would be reset. And when we rise daily and invite God's forgiveness andgrace to wash over us---we would allow His forgiveness to soak in and truly let bygones be bygones... and forgive ourselves. Even when we terrorize poor student teachers. Amen?