02.02.10
Chasing the Wrong Things?
All too many people get caught up in how to do their Christianity. You go to any church around, you will see people in the church who are more worried about how they should act, how they should dress, am I doing the motion to this ritual right, and in essence how they appear to everyone else. This brings to mind the verse where the humble tax collector who is prostrate before God praying fervently to reach him where he was at. Yet the Pharisee next to him is praying a prayer that in essence says thank God I don’t look like this sinful tax collector even though his heart can’t compare to the very person he is measuring himself up against. How many people in our churches today, do this very same prayer as the Pharisee did? They pray out loud with flowing words that sound great and a lot of people are impressed by the eloquence. Yet some of the best prayers I have ever had, seen or heard were those of people, who like the tax collector were broken and crying out to God. They were not eloquent but full of heart. It not about the words, it’s more about the conversation.
People raise their hands while singing and then look around to see if others are watching what they are doing. They are people going through the motions like the Pharisee. They are doing them to put on a show for others in church, Sunday school class or bible study to see. Most people fail to realize that we can do the right things for the wrong reasons. We can give to the poor (a very noble thing) and do it to be recognized and seen (the wrong reason). That is why we have that verse in Matthew where people come up to Jesus saying Lord, Lord didn’t we do all these things in your name? And his response is “get away from me for I knew you not.” So if our motives are suspect on the deeds that we do, then how can we determine how we are doing with God?
The answer lies in our relationship with our God. Now I know there are many people out there who are skeptics saying “Yeah, they always say that all you need is a personal relationship with Jesus and you are saved.” In reality, it is truly that simple yet at the same time it is truly that complex. Relationships don’t grow deep over night. You have to nurture them and invest in them. This takes time and dedication Yet, it is our relationship with Jesus that truly saves us. Now I know there may be a lot of people who will counter that we are saved by faith alone or faith plus works. That is not the debate in which I want to participate. Yet however you believe, those both come out from our relationship with Christ. This is about what it means to be in a true relationship with someone where each side is doing things that are in the best interest of those that they are in relationship with above their own self-centered needs. Yet God is there whether we deserve it or not and always seeks the best for us. That is a tough standard to live up to but Jesus does it with us. So the core of what I am saying is that too many people are focused on what they are doing something versus why they are doing it. In reality one should ask “How am I doing in my acceptance of the free gift that being in relationship with God offers and sharing that relationship with others?”
