Who is it all for?

When you think about being a Christian, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Church? Prayer? A Bible? Sundays? Unfortunately, this is what Christianity has become for a lot of people, and they miss out on the purpose of being a Christian: devoting one's life to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

There's nothing wrong with going to church on Sundays and praying and reading Scripture, they're biblical after all, but I fear that, for many Christians, more often than not this is the extent of where their Christianity goes, and even then, with the wrong motives. I've talked about some of this before (for example, What Should Christians Be Doing That They Aren't?), so I'm not gonna dive deep into concepts I've already talked about (at least not today, maybe next time). However, I think an underlying issue behind some of these other ideas, like the "motions" and not living for God to the full extent that we're called to, is that maybe (and don't shoot the messenger just for proposing this theory) we're not living for God. 

We're selfish as human beings. There's really not denying it, especially in the ever-so-materialistic culture of America. We focus on what we want and on ourselves instead of turning our focus towards the one who can provide what we truly need and ought to be seeking. Why do we go to church on Sundays? Because it's something we always do, every week, or because we want to be with a community of believers who can encourage us and learn more about the Word of God? Why pray? Because we want God to do stuff on our behalf, or because we're seeking to cultivate a relationship with our heavenly Father? Why read the Bible? To mark it off a checklist and feel good about having done something we know we ought to be doing, or because we're seeking to study it and devote ourselves to its teachings? 

Yeah there's a lot more to being a Christian than this (like I said, I've talked about what our Christian lives should really look like on other occasions), but ultimately it comes down to the heart. There's a reason that Matthew 7 says, "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. 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?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" Personally, I see this as a warning not to stagnant in our Christianity, especially in our hearts. Just because you look like you're doing all the right things on the outside doesn't mean your guaranteed a spot in heaven. 

I think a good example of this in Scripture is the religious leaders, like the Pharisees. Jesus warned his disciples again and again to watch out for the Pharisees and not to be like them. They prayed yes, but they prayed publicly for their own attention, not for God. They offered sacrifices to God like they were supposed to, but they also imposed unnecessary restrictions on others and turned sacrifices to God into monetary gain for their own benefit (so it's no wonder Jesus was infuriated and chased them out of the temple with whips - see John 2 for the story). They did all the right things, but their hearts were in the wrong places. They saw themselves as righteous, even more righteous than other followers of Christ, but they were blinded by their own self-righteousness and missed the fact that they were not righteous in God's eyes. My question is: how often do we do the exact same thing?

Jesus was always encouraging his followers to go the extra mile. Don't just not kill people, rather don't even think about wanting to kill them, treating them poorly, or wishing them harm, but instead show them love. Go beyond not committing adultery, but don't let your heart even think about it. Don't get revenge, turn the other cheek instead. Don't fast publicly and earn sympathy for fasting, but keep it between yourself and God. I could go on... (and if you'd like to for your own personal study, there's plenty more examples throughout Matthew 5 and 6... and the rest of Scripture).

I guess the question I have regarding all of this is: who is your Christianity for? Is it for other people, so you can maintain appearances and be in their good graces? Is it for yourself, so you can feel good about yourself and believe you have a secure spot with God for eternity? Or is it for God, your Lord and Savior who has given up everything for you? It says in the ten commandments (Exodus 20), "You shall have no other gods before me." If your Christianity isn't for God, then your putting some other god in His place, whether it's yourself or someone or something else. 

I'm gonna be honest (which is a good policy in... well, every situation of life), this isn't easy. We're still vulnerable and sinful people who let other things get in the way of our focus on God. We're selfish and don't always want to put God first. We lose focus and start putting ourselves first. But what good does that really do? When we do something for ourselves, do we actually feel satisfied with ourselves? Maybe for a time. But often it is merely a "chasing after the wind" and "meaningless" as the book of Ecclesiastes describes it. Ecclesiastes, which is all about how anything you do in this life is fleeting if you're doing it for yourself, ends by saying "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." The goal here then is to change our focus and devote ourselves to the One who deserves our focus the most. A shift from thinking of myself to thinking of the God of the universe. One thing I've heard at baptisms at times is the phrase, "He died for me. I'll live for Him." If I want to be who God calls me to be as a Christian, and if I want to refocus my life as a Christian so it's directed at God (you know, the One who Christianity is supposed to be all about), then every time I stumble and find my gaze fixed where it shouldn't be, it's up to me to redirect that focus, and the same applies to you as a follower of Christ.

There are steps that can help you do this. Ask others to keep you accountable. Study the Bible and see what it says about keeping your focus on God. Pray and ask God to help you stay focused on Him (I personally find this to be the most helpful). And keeping an eye on yourself so you can catch yourself losing focus, then gently reminding yourself where the focus should be instead. However, do NOT beat yourself up for losing focus. I've done that and felt the spiral of, "oh I screwed up, now I'm not good enough, and what's the point of trying again because I'm just gonna mess up more in the future". That train of thought is just one way the devil tries to get us to stop redirecting our focus on God. Be kind and gracious towards yourself, because you're human and you're going to mess up from time to time. Don't dwell on your lost focus, but take the opportunity to redirect it so you can do better next time, then better the time after that, and the time after that, until you can keep that focus on God. It takes time, effort, and energy, but it will reap heavenly rewards.  

Someday, God is going to judge each of us according to our actions and the motives behind those actions, and we ought to be spending our lives here and now devoting ourselves and our hearts to Him, because when we live selfishly, who knows if our fate will be any different than the Pharisees? It's not about so much about what we do during our lives on this earth, but who we're doing things for. Sure, there are things God wants us to do, but when we're living for God, we're going to be more motivated to actually do what Scripture tells us to. We each have a choice, and when judgment day comes, God will either tell us He never knew us, or He will welcome us with open arms as His children. Personally, I want the latter, and it's up to me to live accordingly. How about you?

(Also, if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments about these ideas, I'd love to share further ideas about all of this.)