The Spectrum of "Good"
Last Sunday, I heard a sermon that, all in all, wasn’t especially applicable to me. However, the pastor said one sentence that struck a chord:
“Sometimes, the good things in life crowd out the best things in life.”
Oddly enough, he didn’t expound on the statement; it wasn’t an integral part of the message. However, there seemed to be a lot behind those words, so I started thinking…
I tend toward a homeostasis of “good things.” I want to get closer to God; I want to help people; I want to do the right thing; I want to refrain from sin. I’m constantly wanting to improve me, based on what God wants for me. (Sidebar: wanting and doing are two completely different things; let’s make that clear. I’m not always successful…most of the time, I’m not.) But, you know, about that whole “improvement” thing…I always seem to look at it from the perspective of bad vs. good. My goal is to decrease bad and increase good. And, in the end, if I play my cards right, I have big ol’ heap of the “good things” mentioned in the quote. But, you see, it’s not like the Fair, where you can trade in 4 small stuffed animals for a big stuffed animal. If I go through my whole life thinking that “good” is good enough, then how in the world am I gonna be prepared to receive any of the “best things” that God wants to give me? And, God certainly has those “best things” out there somewhere for us. Look to Malachi 3:10, which talks about the blessings that are so full that we don’t have room for them.
That’s the key. God’s ultimate blessings are greater than we can comprehend. Well, of course they are; that’s not surprising to anyone. But, in practical application, we don’t serve boldly enough for God to use us in those ultimate ways.
Let me take a step back. I don’t serve boldly enough for God to use me in those ultimate ways. And, this fact hit me this week in a major way. I have concocted some sort of “Plan of Service” that attempts to quantify my level of service to God. And, I did that because that’s how I approach everything. I create a game plan—one that lays out a list of steps—and I follow through on them. And, man, that works really well with earthly things. But, with spiritual things, God’s got the game plan, not me. And, if I try to guess God’s game plan, then I’m gonna come up short every single time.
Here’s the tricky part. If I use my own game plan, good things can still come of my efforts. Because of that, I can rationalize that things are “good enough.” God’s work is still being done, after all.
However, take a look around. There aren’t a lot of really serious Christians out there. So, for those of us that are serious about our faith, the responsibility is great. Good enough isn’t good enough. This world needs God’s “best things,” and we are the conduits charged with transporting God’s best to the world. For that to happen, we must not attempt to control how we serve.
Do you create your own plan for your service to God?
Do you limit, consciously or subconsciously, what God puts into your vessel?
Do you defer your service until you gain enough information to reach some sort of comfort level?
My answer to all those questions right now is Yes. And I confess that does God a disservice.
“Sometimes, the good things in life crowd out the best things in life.”
Oddly enough, he didn’t expound on the statement; it wasn’t an integral part of the message. However, there seemed to be a lot behind those words, so I started thinking…
I tend toward a homeostasis of “good things.” I want to get closer to God; I want to help people; I want to do the right thing; I want to refrain from sin. I’m constantly wanting to improve me, based on what God wants for me. (Sidebar: wanting and doing are two completely different things; let’s make that clear. I’m not always successful…most of the time, I’m not.) But, you know, about that whole “improvement” thing…I always seem to look at it from the perspective of bad vs. good. My goal is to decrease bad and increase good. And, in the end, if I play my cards right, I have big ol’ heap of the “good things” mentioned in the quote. But, you see, it’s not like the Fair, where you can trade in 4 small stuffed animals for a big stuffed animal. If I go through my whole life thinking that “good” is good enough, then how in the world am I gonna be prepared to receive any of the “best things” that God wants to give me? And, God certainly has those “best things” out there somewhere for us. Look to Malachi 3:10, which talks about the blessings that are so full that we don’t have room for them.
That’s the key. God’s ultimate blessings are greater than we can comprehend. Well, of course they are; that’s not surprising to anyone. But, in practical application, we don’t serve boldly enough for God to use us in those ultimate ways.
Let me take a step back. I don’t serve boldly enough for God to use me in those ultimate ways. And, this fact hit me this week in a major way. I have concocted some sort of “Plan of Service” that attempts to quantify my level of service to God. And, I did that because that’s how I approach everything. I create a game plan—one that lays out a list of steps—and I follow through on them. And, man, that works really well with earthly things. But, with spiritual things, God’s got the game plan, not me. And, if I try to guess God’s game plan, then I’m gonna come up short every single time.
Here’s the tricky part. If I use my own game plan, good things can still come of my efforts. Because of that, I can rationalize that things are “good enough.” God’s work is still being done, after all.
However, take a look around. There aren’t a lot of really serious Christians out there. So, for those of us that are serious about our faith, the responsibility is great. Good enough isn’t good enough. This world needs God’s “best things,” and we are the conduits charged with transporting God’s best to the world. For that to happen, we must not attempt to control how we serve.
Do you create your own plan for your service to God?
Do you limit, consciously or subconsciously, what God puts into your vessel?
Do you defer your service until you gain enough information to reach some sort of comfort level?
My answer to all those questions right now is Yes. And I confess that does God a disservice.
posted by Trey at
2:49 PM
2 Comments:
Excellent thoughts! B/c I am a "doer" by nature I have been learning to do what GOD wants and not just "do" b/c it is a "good thing". There are a lot of good things to be apart of, but I want what God wants me to do...the best!
By
Jen, at 9:00 AM
Yes, I also heartily agree, Trey. It is so easy for us to use our own sort of spiritual measuring stick to determine how we're doing each day. However, 1) how do we expect to be able to measure this with only a human perspective and 2) even if we could measure it, what would it do for us except boost our own ego or depress us? No, it seems in the end, we have to get ourselves away from this thinking of "good enough" and once again turn our primary focus to Christ and eternity. And when He and His words are in our heart, well, we still won't do everything perfectly, but even in the midst of our sins, the world should have a chance to see Christ revealed through grace and mercy and perseverance. Good thoughts, Trey.
By
cr, at 7:41 AM
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