"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
We like to think of the Christian life as a never-ending ascent leading us closer to God. With every passing year, we gain greater spiritual wisdom, we draw closer to our Creator, and we are increasingly remade into the image of Christ. What a beautiful picture! And although this is certainly an ideal to strive for, the reality is often quite different. Why is this so? We are warned in Scripture of powers that are actively seeking to kill, steal and destroy. As dramatically envisioned in The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, Scripture points to spiritual forces that work in opposition to the life-transforming purposes of God’s Spirit in us. Lewis touches on a number of different ways these spiritual forces seek to derail God’s work in us, throughout these letters, but certainly one of the most potent means is the one that Dante puts dead center in his listing of the seven deadly sins…sloth. I feel bad for the sloth, that “arboreal Neotropical” mammal. Honestly, it has to be one of the most adorable creatures in God’s creation. And what profound lessons it teaches us: Don’t hurry, get plenty of rest and smile. OK, it might not actually be smiling, but it’s face looks like it is perpetually happy. And why shouldn’t it be? It gets to hang out in the trees, eat leaves, and discover new places. Sloths, as mammals, are lovable. Sloth, as a character trait, not so much. What makes sloth a deadly sin? Maybe, in part, the fact that we are lulled into sloth without even realizing it. Certainly, there are times of great zeal and passion in the Christian life, especially the initial fervor that often marks those who are new to faith. But the highs don’t last forever. Eventually, we come to find that we can run our Christian lives quite seamlessly on auto-pilot. It doesn’t happen all at once. But over time we are attracted to the prospect of exerting less energy in our spiritual life, energy that we happily divert to those things that provide more immediate gratification. Yet sloth is of the “silent, but deadly” variety because it isn’t attached to some monumental decision or doctrinal shift, but is a side effect of the natural human tendency to get distracted, lose focus, coast. It is the product of natural atrophy, a succumbing to the gravitational pull of comfort, that great 21st century idol. It calls to the spiritually lackadaisical, lazy, lethargic side of all of us. How different this pursuit than the one described in Hebrews 12. Run with perseverance? It’s the polar opposite of our culture’s quest for comfort. In one we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, in the other we fix our eyes on a screen, a phone, a mirror, a web page, a recliner, a retirement! In one the focus is God’s eternal purposes to bring life, love and healing to the world, in the other the focus is self-centered desires for passing pleasures and a superficial peace. In one is the miracle of divine life taking root and growing in us and in those around us, in the other is an amusement that lasts but a moment and leave us no better than we were before…and often much worse. Who doesn’t like comfort? Comfort is nice. Honestly, comfort can be a wonderful gift of God, especially when it is sourced in the one who is called THE Comforter! The problem is when we get hooked on comfort, when it is no longer a wonderful side effect of divine blessings, but it becomes our purpose, our goal, our main thing. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that in our culture today, comfort has become an idol. So, how do we short-circuit this natural tendency toward sloth?!? The answer is right there in Hebrews 12, is it not? Fix your eyes on Jesus. We must choose to model ourselves after the one for whom comfort was NOT the highest goal. We must imitate the one who sacrificed personal comfort so that He might be “the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross.” Joy? How could He find joy in the cross? It was certainly not joy derived from the agonizing pain, but joy derived from the end result: victory for the kingdom, salvation for God’s people, and glory for God! Jesus reveals that there are things more important than comfort! With a new school year upon us, a new season of life and ministry has begun. May this be a season in which we are responding to the call of God in our lives to draw closer to our Father, be shaped into the image of the Son, and be filled day by day with the power of the Spirit. Or as Paul puts it, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
1 Comment
Linda Jane Clauson
10/3/2022 10:31:23 am
As always this Lamplighter was a thought provoking one and worth doing self reflection on myself.
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Dan GannonDan has ministered at Renton Bible Church, with his wife Debbie, since 2003. Archives
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