Why would a professing Christian wimp out a committed, consistent pursuit of God? There are many reasons, I suppose... Unlike other pursuits, which requires action in order to reach your goal... the pursuit of God requires us to be still, to wait, and to be in humble submission. On those occasions when we do catch a glimpse of God... a mere passing glance at His perfection shows our own imperfections. There is to be no delusions of grandiosity, in our pursuit of the truly Grand.
And yet, we know we ought to be pursuing righteousness. It's imprinted in us. But the pursuit of God is hard, we feel we are in inaction, and God is not always easily within our reach. So, we professing Christians find ourselves some pretty good substitutes.
This is by no means in any particular order. Like all of my rants, it is completely random. Additionally, none of these things are inherently bad on their own. My point is none of these should stand in the way of the pursuit of the real God.
1. Christians like to pursue rules instead of God
We chase after rules, make up rules, and then try to obey them, because we think that they make us more righteous and Godly... and because they make us feel better, as if we are doing the right things and ticking the right boxes. And so, we use our energy following rules other people make for us. (Example: no wearing jeans to church. The worship team must wear the same colour. You must show up 1 hr early... and so on). When that is not enough, we might even make up rules for ourselves. (I must get up early to pray. I must spend 30 minutes on bible reading per day. I must keep a journal every day. I must reach out to someone. I must help out at church... etc).
We focus so much on these rules, that we miss God in the process. If you don't mind what you read or what you learn in your reading, as long as you are reading 30 minutes of bible per day, you are missing the point. If you don't mind what you are singing or playing in the worship team, as long as you don't forget the lyrics, don't play the wrong note, and wear the right shirt... you are missing the point, and you are not pursuing God.
2. Christians like to pursue ministry instead of God
Don't get me wrong. Christians should serve, we are called to wash each other's feet. And sometimes, as individuals, we feel a distinct call towards a certain ministry. Some feel called to preach, some feel called to minister in music, some feel called to minister to children. (Do you have a 'pet' ministry? I know I do.) It is so easy to focus on service or on our calling... after all, our ministry is tangible, it is superficially satisfying because we feel like we are doing something for God... and best of all, our ministry is within our control, whereas God is not. And so, we spend our energy, and our time, on making things run, and making sure we produce the best results for Him. This is not a bad thing by itself... but are you spending more time and energy fulfilling your call, or are you pursuing the One who called out to you?
3. Christians like to pursue causes instead of God
It is so 'in fashion' right now to have a cause, we are a generation that like to have a cause to fight for, something to 'stand up' for. The choices are many - human rights, environment, humanitarian services, starving children... If you are a spouse or a parent, your 'cause' may even be to bring up your children well or have a loving family. Important, yes... but none of these should take precedence or predominance over a pursuit of God.
4. Christians like to pursue fellowship instead of God
This is you, if your idea of the pursuit of God is wholly via cell groups, prayer meetings, and bible studies. I know Christians who attend every single cell group meeting and bible study, and yet spend very little time in personal prayer and personal study of the bible. Fellowship is important, don't get me wrong, and we often experience God's compassion and grace in the form of our loving brothers and sisters. And yet, we can not develop an intimate, one-on-one relationship with God if we only ever meet Him in a group.
5. Christians like to pursue lists instead of God
This is perhaps the one that gets to the most of us committed (and perhaps over-committed) Christians. We have lists to do, lists to get us through the day, lists of things to think about, lists of things to pray for, and even lists to summarise what lists we have. Although God is ever on our hearts and minds, and always on our lips, He is but one point of the list. We can not quieten our hearts, we can not settle ourselves at His feet, and we can not leave the list behind. What will we do? Will we bring our list to Him?
These are the five things I have most often observed in myself and others. Can you think of other important ones? Please add to comments.
