Your Bible study group is crap
Religious duties can be just as addicting as any other substance or activity that offers an escape from reality.
Whether it’s the praise of others or the sense of comfort achieved, it’s easy to hide behind the curtain of religion where everything is fine, I’ve got it under control thank you very much!
If it’s the activity that gives your life purpose, value, meaning, or worth, it’s no different than one finding their identity in any other form of achievement or activity, secular or otherwise. You’ve just spiritualized it.
It’s easier to push
We often settle for behavior change merely because it’s easier. It’s not always easier actually change one’s behavior, but we have gotten good at incrementally affecting it.
But that’s not change, that’s just managing it.
When push comes to shove, anyone can sacrifice a bull, or give money, or serve, or behave properly, or know theology, or do any number of other things related to the Christian lifestyle. The real difficulty is getting to that point without the pushing or shoving.
If you focus on just changing behavior, that’s all you’ll do. Go for the heart and everything changes.
You might be proud
…if you spend more time talking about all the theology you know and no time talking about all the sin you commit.
The only thing you’re proving is that you know all the right answers, not what you really believe.
It’s good to remember humility is praised far above knowing all the theological intricacies of Biblical doctrine.
The mark of a mature Christian isn’t how many times they’ve read through the Bible or the depth of their theological knowledge, but how quickly they recognize, regret, and repent of their sin.
Riding the storm in the middle
Often times it feels like we are stuck in the middle of an ever expanding rubberband stretched to its capacity. Pulled any longer and it will simply, suddenly, violently, break.
On one side we are told to ignore everything and do nothing. On the other is worry. Or, freakout. Or, take things into your own hands and do whatever you can to make things right.
Choosing neither though is like trying to sleep on a boat in the middle of a ravenous sea storm.
But with Christ, I guess that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do. We can rest knowing, like everything else, He’s got this too.
Never by chance
It is important to remember that no one arrives at their convictions by mere chance. Even a child, in as much as they are able, uses reason to deduce that which he believes. Usually this comes from the culture which they were raised in and whether they believe what that culture says is true or false.
A person’s beliefs are never as simple as the other side would have you believe.
The powerlessness of positive thinking
I am reminded again how easy, and almost natural it is, when faced or presented with suffering in our own life or others, to first remember all the good things you’ve been given and to be thankful for those. In other words, count your blessings.
And though this is not, of course, in and of itself wrong, it’s often done as a sort of coping mechanism to help with the pain caused by suffering by forcing you to remember you don’t have it so bad, or it could be worse.
Be thankful, yes. Remember God’s faithfulness, yes. Rely on the power of positive thinking to offer lasting comfort? Never.
We’re told to rejoice in our weaknesses and sufferings, we’re not told to remember all the good things we have.
That way leads to guilt, shame, and condemnation. Turning to Christ leads to hope.
