A recipe for spiritual disillusionment

     Things are gearing up at our church for the fall ministries.  Our school started yesterday.  Several other of our major ministries are slated to re-launch in the next couple of weeks.  Just in case you have a tendency (like lots of people) to evaluate your spiritual progress and effectiveness for God based on inaccurate standards, let me reproduce for you a 5 part recipe for disillusionment that I have borrowed from Patrick Morley of Man in the Mirror ministries.  It's reminder of how to keep things in proper perspective as we make our plans and preparations for the ministries ahead.

  1. Go with the natural flow of life.  Don’t give much thought to knowing Jesus more intimately on a  day-to-day basis.  Let life’s natural currents take you where they may.  Presume that spiritual growth will occur naturally.  Don’t expend too much time in reflection; it will give you a headache.
  2.  Immerse yourself in Christian work.  Be there every time the doors are open.  Cook the pancakes, balance the budget, and call on all the first-time visitors.  Be busy for God.  Don’t get bogged down in the Scriptures and intercession for the saints.  Don’t worry about spiritual giftedness; rely on your natural abilities.  After all, “to serve Him is to know Him.”
  3. Do more for God each year.  Measure your value to God by results.  Keep records of your spiritual production.  If you spent 100 hours in Christian service last year, then make 120 your goal for this year.  Make performance the acid test for your spirituality. 
  4. Get your feedback from friends.  Depend on the appreciation and affirmation of the brothers and sisters.  Savor the positive comments of your friends.  Let their strokes provide energy, strength and encouragement.  Derive your self-worth from how others value your achievements.
  5. Build a reputation.  Pick service to God that is highly visible.  Don’t be satisfied with becoming a servant; become a star.  After all, if you can become somebody important, you can make a bigger contribution.  Don’t worry about doing service to the glory of God; He can manage His own glory.  Do your service in such a way that you are noticed.

     Obviously those are intended to be sarcastic, but they still speak pretty clearly, don't they?  Do you find it easy to put all of your effort into the things that measure success in the same way the world measures it?  How do you keep yourself focused on the most important things?  Would you add any of your own "ingredients" to this recipe?

Comments

  1. KimAugust 16, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    Just spoke to a ladies' SS class in VA about that very thing this past Sunday. One of Satan's trickiest ploys: keep us busy! Disillusionment and Distraction are killers! Thanks for putting it all in perspective!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 16, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    That goes against everything I used to be taught! Thanks for the reminders!

    ReplyDelete

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