Are good Christians supposed to be this busy?

            New believers are such enthusiastic people. They have just discovered the wonderful love of God for them and are eager to please both Him and their new family in the church. So when they are approached to do something within the church, they eagerly jump at the opportunity. Working in the church is very much encouraged by the leadership. All Christians are supposed to witness to others, read their Bibles and pray daily, come to all church meetings, and help others in any way they can, both in their personal lives and in the church. That is what makes a good Christian. I was personally encouraged by many a godly Christian to do as much as I could for God because He had done so much for me. Working hard for Him was the least I could offer back.

            As a result, “good” North American Christians are among the busiest people in our society. Not only do are their lives hectic with doing the same things as their non-Christian friends do (work, family, running children to their extra-curricular activities, etc.), but they add to that all the Christian things already listed, plus a whole number of dos and don’ts which need to be observed. And they take great pride in this. There is even a saying in the church: “I’d sooner burn out than rust out.”

Unfortunately, after several years of this, many Christians start to lose their joy in serving. They do things because they are supposed to, but many a time, they have to drag themselves out to do them. They are weary in doing all that they are doing. But because the Scripture says “Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9a), they assume this is just a sinful attitude, repent, and continue on. They are further encouraged to keep busy by Scriptures that tell them they can expect good in return for all their efforts: 

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:7b “A man reaps what he sows.”

Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

Ephesians 6:7-8 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 

They may also be fearful of quitting because of Scriptures like: 

James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

1 Corinthians 3:
1  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
13  his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
14  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
15  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 

            So, many Christians work because they owe God something for all that He has given them, because they really want the promised rewards, because they want to be good Christians and people of faith, because if they’re going to reap what they sow they’d better being sowing lots of good works.

Then life happens. 

·           They are faithful workers on the job, always do a little extra, even witnessing to their fellow workers about their faith in Christ as opportunity arises – then they are terminated in the next round of budget cuts.·           They look after their bodies, which are, after all, temples of the Holy Spirit, then they get cancer. Their fellow believers pray for a healing, but healing doesn’t happen.

·           They are good parents. They bring up their children in the way those children should go, just like the Bible says. Then they discover that one of their children is addicted to drugs.

·           They are community-minded citizens, coaching kids’ sports, volunteering at the food bank, helping at the youth centre. Then they’re mugged on the way to their volunteer job.

·           They work hard at their marriage, then discover their partner is having an affair or wants a divorce.

·           They do all they can to get the job of their dreams, but are once again passed over for someone just a little better - or worse, for someone just a little more closely connected to the powers that be.

·           One day, the realize that they have been working hard for God for years, but they are no happier in their faith and no closer to God than when they started. In fact, they may have less joy in their faith and may feel more distant from God than when they were first saved. 

At that point, their world of busyness comes crashing down. All kinds of horrible thoughts rise up: 

·           God isn’t giving them what they deserve if He has been telling the truth about them reaping according to what they sow.

·           God doesn’t seem to think He owes them anything.

·           Maybe God doesn’t consider them to be good Christians after all, if this is the best He can do for them.

·           Maybe they haven’t done enough (this is the worst conclusion of all because they will, in all likelihood, already be doing more than they can comfortable handle.  

This is a time in life where good Christians can become disappointed with God, which puts them at a very important crossroads. They can turn on themselves (maybe if I’d done more) or on God (what do I need to do to get You to bless me) or on the faith (what is the point if this is all I get in return). Or they can listen to Jesus’ diagnosis of their real problem (Revelation 2:4): “You have forsaken your first love”, that is, their love of God.

            This is a hard diagnosis for busy Christians because they believe that all their hard work is a demonstration of how much they love the Lord. But listen to Jesus’ description of the people to whom He said that they had turned their backs on their first love (Revelation 2): 

2  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
3  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 

Is this not a description of what most North American churches would describe as “good” Christians? These people were hard working. They were faithful and didn’t give up easily (they had perseverance). They had a passion for holiness and sound doctrine. They endured hardship and did not become weary in doing good. But Jesus had something against them. “You have forsaken your first love”. He saw this as such a serious matter that He said unless they did something about that, He would close their church (Revelation 2: 5[1] and 1:20).[2]

            What is Jesus getting at? Why was He so upset with these people? He was upset because they had turned God’s values upside down. They had thought God was all about getting things done. In fact, God is about love.

            Jesus said that the whole universe turns on just two things - loving God and loving one another (Matthew 22:37-39).[3] But don’t we love people by doing things for them? Let’s let Jesus answer that one.

First of all, when Jesus calls people to become part of God’s family, is He calling them to a life of busyness? Jesus Himself said (Matthew 11:28): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The book of Hebrews picks up on what Jesus said, and tells us (Hebrews 4): 

1  Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
. . . . .
9  There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
. . . . .
11  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest . . . 

Most North American Christians are never taught that God is passionate that His people rest. Even God rested. And are we not to be like Him?

Lest there be any doubt about what the Bible means by “rest”, Hebrews describes it for us (Hebrews 4:10): “[F]or anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his”.

Still in doubt that God is not a big believer in busyness? Some of the people during Jesus’ time on earth also thought that they had to be busy. So they asked Jesus outright (John 6:28): “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’” Jesus answered (John 6:29): “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Still not convinced? Among the things the Bible tells us about Jesus’ life on earth, is the story of a busy believer who told Jesus how much she was doing for Him and how her sister didn’t understand that, and would Jesus set her straight (Luke 10): 

38  As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
39  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
40  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

To Martha’s surprise, she ended up being the one that Jesus thought needed to be set straight (Luke 10): 

41  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42  but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

The Bible tells us that there are many things that are good for us to do. At times, we can feel overwhelmed. We’d like a shorter list. Jesus gave us that list. It is a list of one thing. Among all the things there are to do in this life, only one thing is needed. And that one thing isn’t doing anything at all – except being with the Jesus. There is another equally short list to be found in Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus . . . [t]he only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

            God is not about doing. God is about relationship. He doesn’t need us to do anything. He is quite capable of accomplishing anything He wants without any help from us. And quite frankly, He could probably get any given job done better and faster without us. But He can’t love without us. At least not the way He wants to. Back at the beginning of time, He decided He wanted to love someone who wasn’t Himself. He wanted a bride. And so He made us. We are engaged to God the Son. All of our life is headed toward one thing: our wedding day (Revelation 19:7, 9).[4] In light of that, doesn’t it make a whole lot of sense that God wants, above all things, for us to spend time with Him falling ever more deeply in love with Him?

            Christians deeply value the gift of eternal life that Jesus died to provide for them. But what is eternal life? Jesus said (John 17:3): “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Knowing God doesn’t mean knowing some things about Him from the Bible. It means knowing Him the way we know our spouse: deeply, intimately and passionately. And that kind of knowing only births as we spend time with one another.

            God doesn’t want our service so much as He wants our heart. The first and greatest commandment, the reason God created in the first place, the answer to what life is all about, is simply this (Matthew 22:37): “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” One man in the Bible, who commented on this statement of Jesus, was commended by Jesus as being a wise man. The man had said (Mark 12): 

32  “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
33  To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 

In other words, all our sacrifices of work for God can’t compare in importance to loving God.

            One of the most frightening Scriptures in the New Testament is this statement by Jesus (Matthew 7:21-23):
21  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
23  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 

Jesus looks at these poor people who have been doing even miracles in His name, and says: You haven’t done what my Father wanted. We never had a relationship.

            God says, instead of this, take me up on my invitation (Revelation 22:17): “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Come marry me. You don’t have to do anything to earn My love, keep My love or pay Me back for My love. I am head over heals in love with you. Just come and enjoy married life with Me.  

Sharon Currens