Honoring God
Posted by DuaneMar 16
From an old Table Talk article posted by Douglas Wilson, titled ‘Sanctified Apathy’
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to bow down to the Babylonian idol, they refused. They knew that God was able to deliver them, and they said as much to the king. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:17-18). They said that their God could deliver them. But even if He decided not to, as far as they were concerned, the king could throw them into the furnace. They didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care about the furnace because they did care, and deeply, about honoring God. And this is the basis for sanctified apathy.
The more we care about honoring God, the less we will care about receiving honors from men. This is important because if we care about the opinions of men in the wrong way, it keeps us from being able to believe in Jesus (John 5:44).The more we care about being approved as a faithful workman by God, the less we will care if others condemn or oppose us on their own puny authority (2 Tim. 2:15).
Modern Christians are constantly exhorted to care. This is legitimate, indeed it is inescapable. But the problem is that we are regularly told to care about all the wrong things. “If we continue to maintain that God created the world in six days, we will not be granted academic respectability.” To which we must reply, well, who cares? Why should we care that the guardians of the academy believe that we are not intellectually respectable? They believe that the moose, the sperm whale and the meadowlark are all blood relations. Why do we want their seal of approval on our intellectual abilities? It is like asking Fidel Castro to comment on the economic viability of Microsoft.
Full article available here
PDF 
10 comments
Comment by Rene Mulder on 16 Mar 2010 at 05:37
I'm learning a lot about the Bible and stories like these, and follow a ton of courses and do my own studies.
I think my personal problem/challenge is getting what I learn from my head to my heart, which would inevitably result in me actually living it out (like I'm supposed to)
Whenever I learn something I didn't know yet, or vaguely knew but didn't understand before, I go “oh right, I'll have to try that”. And then something else comes up, I go “oh yeah, have to do that too, I wasn't living like that yet”.
When I think about it, it feels like I've got all these ideas and verses and whatnot floating around in my head, but it's hard for these thoughts to sink into my heart where they need to be.
What I mean is…I KNOW I'm “supposed” to say “I'm not gonna bow before your idols, just toss me in the fire” but I want to actually WANT to say so, and actually live my life showing that.
In order to do that, I'd have to have what I know sink into my heart, right?
I want to serve God and do it, not just know I'm supposed to and not know how to do it.
Thoughts on that?
Comment by Ryft Braeloch on 16 Mar 2010 at 09:24
The character of your relationship with God is a function of your view of God and the time you spend delighting in him through authentic worship and prayer. The problem for so many people (and I’m not suggesting you fall into this category) is that they view God as something of an abstraction; he is an idea, an accurate one, perhaps even a good one, but there is no connection to God in the sense of genuine personhood. God is hardly more real than a far-off entity similar to Deism. In hardship they think about God, in a crisis they cry out to him, when saying grace they are reminded of him, but in their otherwise workaday life—in the workplace, running errands, dropping the kids off here or there, watching television—he basically never registers. At once both their view of God and the amount of time they (don’t) spend with him produce a human-centered life with views about God rather than a God-centered life with views about man. God is not cultivated in their hearts because he’s little more than a thing in their head.
Your question is a pastoral one, difficult to address in general terms since the reasons for that spiritual condition are almost as varied as the individuals confronting it. One needs to know you and your unique situation, to work with you on a personal level; that falls into the pastoral category. How much of your time each week is devoted to prayer life? Worshiping God in praise? Studying the Bible? Sharing the gospel? If the surveys are accurate, most Christians have no prayer life, worship God only in church, which they infrequently attend, don’t study the Bible (and only sometimes read it), and never share the gospel. (Moreover, most Christians have trouble articulating what the message of the gospel even is, alarming as that is.) Whereabouts in this spiritual spectrum do you fall? The answers to those questions go a long way to defining your view of God and the time you spend delighting in him.
Comment by Rick Baskett on 16 Mar 2010 at 15:13
I think you're on the right track Rene. Keep pursuing God in all the things that you do. Pray that God gives you the desire and the strength to follow through with those desires.
The Christian walk is just like growing up. We start as babies and eventually become experienced seniors. Although sometimes I think the time period is not a regular lifetime, but more of a Methuselah lifetime. :) Try to recognize what stage you are in and try to parallel it with the stage of life that closely matches and you'll have a good idea of what struggles you have and you might recognize some struggles and answers that you didn't realize were there. For example teenagers tend to rebel against authority even though many times they know the authority comes with wisdom and knowledge, almost for the sake of rebellion itself. Usually it's because they are trying to figure out who they are as an individual. We do the same in our Christian walk, we rebel consciously and subconsciously as we try to find ourselves and how we fit into the big picture. Just recognizing that you are in the “teen” years can almost instantly put you into your early “twenties” in your walk, just because of that recognition.
Anyways I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Keep focusing on Christ, reading the Bible, try to learn and know that you're on the Path and God will keep you in the narrow way as you grow in maturity as a follower of Christ.
Comment by Duane on 16 Mar 2010 at 16:37
I find it really encouraging that you are even struggling with these thoughts and feelings Rene and working with the Spirit against your natural desires (Galatians 5:16-17) to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30).
As I don't really know at what point you are in your Christian life and how much you do read your Bible, I won't assume that you are familiar with all that Scripture has to say on this. But there is one particular passage that came to mind that would seem to express your angst, which I absolutely share in with you:
Wanting to serve God in every good way is certainly an admirable trait. But as the Spirit works in you and you with the Spirit, you have no doubt become aware that doing it is quite another thing altogether.
I do have some encouragement for you though, small though it may be. Though you may be a sinner who struggles against your own desires, take heart that mastering sin is not a prerequisite for your usefulness in the body of Christ. Or as Greg Koukl once quipped, if God couldn't use sinners He wouldn't get very much done, now would he? In fact the apostle Paul considered himself the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), yet God did amazing things through him.
Thanks for opening up your heart and mind to us. I hope that we are able to continue to encourage one another.
Comment by Mathew on 17 Mar 2010 at 04:28
Rene – there is not much I could add to what my friends above have already wonderfully expressed. On reading your comment – expressly that you desire to genuinely want to serve God and not serve Him just because it's the right thing to do (in other words, that your actions would be right but your heart (motives) displaced – reminded me of the account of the Prodigal Son in Luke's gospel (Lk 15:11-32).
In this story we read of two figures: one is the older son who stays obedient to his father's house, works the land, not asking for anything that is not yet owed to him; the other is the younger son who takes his inheritance before it is due and, living unwisely, squanders what he was given.
At the end of the parable, which of the two sons – the younger or the older – best appreciates the provision and grace and mercy and righteousness of the father? Is it the older, who simply did as he was told? Or is it the younger who, after having rebelled, earnestly returned home, repentant and expecting nothing?
There is much more to the parable (obviously) than I've outlined here but a simple take-away from the story is that there is nothing that we can do in order to earn our Father's grace. To relate back to your comment I think that the starting point in which we realize we are serving (or are on our way to better serving) our God faithfully is the recognition that we owe absolutely everything to His grace and mercy – we certainly cannot merit it. And when that is understood in the proper light of the gospel, we find ourselves gravitating towards service to God almost naturally – driven by the Holy Spirit and fed by the delights to found in the Word.
Comment by Adam on 17 Mar 2010 at 05:08
Too quick for me Duane. When I read Rene's comment I was thinking about that passage and was going to reference it. It's kind of reassuring that Paul went through exactly what we are going through.
Comment by Rene Mulder on 17 Mar 2010 at 06:36
Thanks for all the feedback guys.
I want to put some good thought into my reply, before I post it, so to give you the most accurate picture of my situation. If any of you think this subject is better continued elsewhere, let me know.
I'm going to start with answering Ryft's questions first, because it helps to understand where I am in my Christian walk, as some of you have pointed out.
I definitely don't see God as abstract. I know He is a personal God, and I am very comfortable with the idea that He is an actual Father to us in every sense of the word.
I generally pray daily, altough I have moments when I can't face God at all (I'll get to that in a minute).
Worship is a difficult point for me, because, though I have some idea of what worship actually means, I don't completely understand it yet. Or should I say, I feel like I am unable to express myself in certain forms of worship, because of my history or personal characteristics.
For quite a while now I've been thinking about God and His Word/Law all day, every day. I'd say that's a good sign of me actually being a Christian.
Where it gets difficult for me is that I am, of nature, perfectionist, impatient and someone who wishes to do the right thing always and can't stand to lose face.
I KNOW I can't earn God's grace, and that I've already received it. I have a piece of paper right here in front of my desk with all sorts of lines from the bible themed “Who am I in Christ?”
It's a great list, but I don't really feel like I'm those things sometimes.
I would like reassurance from the Spirit, rather than a piece of paper with bible quotes.
As for my Bible reading. I have difficulty reading it because of the language. I'd say I understand English better than my native tongue of Dutch. The more modern translations tend to miss the point of the original texts, so that doesn't work for me either.
I definitely need someone to teach me, but a teacher is not someone I have acces to, every single day.
I do listen to those MP3 seminars, which have been a great help :)
Because I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I am also non-stop (24/7) tired, in physical pain and have great difficulty concentrating on reading.
But I think Ryft makes a good point when he says my question may be a pastoral one. I was thinking about that last night and I think it'd be a good idea for me to talk to someone in my church about this.
I guess in a way, because of my nature, I am too harsh on myself and demand perfection while God does not. And so I may push myself away from Him, at times when I need Him to draw me closer.
It's really difficult to deal with such characteristics.
It is also quite human, at least for me, to think you're doing a bad job at being a good disciple, while not seeing all the good things you are doing.
When I'm with other Christians I blossom and open up, I'm enthousiastic and radical and friendly. When I'm alone, that fire seems to go away a little.
Rick:
Thank you for that as well :)
It's true that I am still trying to figure out what God wishes for me to do, and being impatient that I am, waiting can get a little frustrating.
Duane:
I'm reasonably familliar with the bible, but I think what I miss is the connection between everything I know, and how to apply specifics to myself.
Some of the bigger questions I try to answer are: what does it mean to love God? And how do I live my life as a disciple of Jesus?
I know bits and pieces, but they do not connect in such a way yet, that I can really work with them.
I'm most encouraged by your words though. Especially the part that Paul writes in Romans. I've known that part for a long time, but I seem to keep forgetting how much I relate to that.
I guess what I miss the most is the peace that Jesus promisses. Serving God from a position of peace (within myself) is much better than being in a position of confusion/battle in myself.
But like you said: God can use anyone, even the worst of sinners :)
I think this sort of links in with Mathew's comment.
It's true that I can't and don't need to earn God's grace. And again, how do I get that FACT to go from my HEAD to my HEART. I guess that is connected with how to get the peace in myself to live from, for God.
Lots to think about, and more importantly, to pray for. I'll see to it that I find a pastor to talk about my situation as well.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone :)
(BTW: I grew up with Christian faith in the family, have “given my heart to Jesus” various times during my young life but didn't come to mature belief and repenting untill a year and a half, or so, ago. After a life of going between worship and hating God. (I had a rather strong conversion experience after all that :) )
I was baptised exactly one year ago yesterday. So I guess you could say I'm a young Christian, though the growth I've experienced over the past year has been great)
Comment by Duane on 17 Mar 2010 at 09:39
I think it would be fair to say that I have likewise experienced much growth in my short time as a Christian also – Praise God!
But because I am also a “young” Christian I don't know if Mathew, Ryft (or any of the others) might be able to suggest something better than what I am about to say.
You mentioned that you need to better understand (know) in your heart that you have received God's grace. Apart from prayer and many of the other suggestions, can I suggest a book that is widely held – at least in the conversational circles that I move in – to be an excellent book on the topic: 'What's So Amazing About Grace' by Philip Yancey. Actually this is a book that I would like to read again. I really got a lot out of it the first time.
Here are two articles I wrote some time ago (on my old site) that mention Yancey also:
An Example of Grace
Defending Grace: A Protestant World Youth Day Initiative
Pingback by Casting Crowns – East to West |:| The Aristophrenium on 17 Mar 2010 at 07:26
[...] I was inspired to post this following the conversation about grace on an earlier post. [...]
Comment by Rick Baskett on 17 Mar 2010 at 14:12
Happy Anniversary Rene! :) Do read the Philip Yancey book, excellent book from an excellent writer! :)