So many Christians are walking around with a non-serving attitude and the effect it has on the modern day church is being felt all over the world. Serving is something that is really difficult for most to get a handle on and the modern conveniences of technology have contributed to the problem. We have come a long way from the introduction of the tv remote that made it possible to change tv channels without having to actually get up from your chair. I love my remote and the way it makes watching tv so much easier. When my remote breaks down, I suddenlly realize how dependent I have become on it and find myself not even wanting to watch tv if I can't channel surf from my easy chair. We have made almost everything so user friendly that it has caused us to lose our drive for actually doing something physical. Why get up to change the tv when you can just push a button and access numerous channels, or bring up the channel guide and zip through them ten at a time. Apple tv makes it possible to change and view tv off the internet with your smart phone, even bypassng the remote. I guess the next step will be a micro chip that is inserted in your brain so you can change what you are watching with the blink of an eye. Are we making things better or just easier. Believe it or not, the two do not coexist. It's either one or the other. And the competition among people to outdo the other guys easy mode by coming up with something that makes what we are doing even easier is amazing. The commerical that shows a guy getting the latest 3D tv unloaded at his house and looks across the street as his neighbor is getting a 4d (not real) unloaded, thus outdoing him. His frustration is the frustration of not having the lastest, greatest is hilarious, but also indicting on our society. So how do we change the tide? First off we need to look at the problem itself. No one wants to be responsible for anything anymore. This is the ultimate apathy. I won't commit to something that ties me down and keeps me from being able to choose whether I want to make a sacrifice or not. Oh my goodness, never sacrifice. Jesus did that on the cross so I wouldn't have to. Let me reference a verse here that applies. Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. You know what this is. It is the dialogue Jesus has with the man who had great possessions. He came wanting to know what it would take for Him to have eternal life and Jesus said give up your possessions, but the man wasn't willing and walked away without. So many times we think that when we accept Christ we get that "fire insurance" and that's just about it from there on. So we find a church to "attend", but not serve in and we think everything is all right. For a home in heaven, everything is all right. For a home on earth, it is just the beginning. The life of a disciple is so much more than just heaven. It is living a life of purpose and passion here on earth, while we are living. I'm not talking a remote control life. I'm talking about a "get up and change the channel" life. Oh, we can use modern technology to help us do this service, but when it becomes our source to keep us from serving, it has gone too far. What happens is before long we just start existing and the ease of not serving the Lord with our "effort" takes over our mind and then our heart and then we feel an emptiness that should not be there.
II remember a few years back a church that built a new building and they wanted to solve the problem of people not turning off the lights when they leave a room. They had hired a janitor to become a "light turner offer" to fix it, but soon realized the lack of genius in that decision when they had to pay him. So in the new building they put in light switches that turn on when you go in the room and turn off when you leave. In reality they had become so lazy, they wouldn't even take the initiative to turn off a light switch. C'mon! The argument was, "we want to be good stewards of the Lord's money, so we don't want to waste electricity." In reality they just wanted to make it easier for people to keep a distance in the area of investing in their church by not being responsible and turning off the lights. How hard can that be? Can you give me a remote for that? Just Flip the Switch!!! Oh no, that is so below me and my talents....(sarcasm) Like the man with great possessions we must approach this salvation thing with the realization that Jesus compels us to roll up our sleeves and serve. By which some may answer, "Can you text me those instructions, so I don't forget?" Keep serving in the front of your mind and be a life poured out to continue what Christ has started in our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." I don't think there is an app for that, so don't try searching. The only app here is "apply God's Word to your life." Now you have heard the truth. Just flip the switch and see what is waiting for you when you have a willing heart.
Just flip the switch!!
The Pilgrimage continues....
David Warren
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