Finite vs. Infinite

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." ~1 John 2:15-17

I don't mean to be redundant, but this post essentially is an extension of my previous post on worldliness. It seems to be something that has been weighing on my mind and heart lately, quite possibly because I've been rather aware of my own struggle as of late to focus less on what the world thinks and more about how I should live faithfully for God. It's so easy to get caught up in envy and pride these days with the ever expanding social media that makes you hyper aware of what others have and what you may not. Some desire to have the trendiest fashion sense or the most likes or followers, while others yearn to live someone else's life. I'll admit that half the reason I go on the internet these days is to see if anybody likes my tweets, blog posts, or photos on Instagram, and that's no way to go through life. It's pointless to yearn for someone's approval that is finite and could change overnight. Contentment in what we have and resting in God almost seems to be a thing of the past, and that's where we've all strayed at somepoint and got it all wrong.
This will sound silly to those who know me best, but it was through listening to Taylor Swift's "The Lucky One" that I really started to evaluate what I value most and how silly and absurd it is to desire anything from the world. This song is all about someone who moves to LA to become the center of attention, but once she succeeds, she longs to get out of town and live essentially in obscurity. When she was all over the headlines, she never understood her true worth and value since there was always someone in the wings striving to take her place. Everyone felt that the lucky one was in the spotlight, but at the end of the song, Taylor admits that the one who hightailed it out of town to spare her dignity was the one who was lucky.
I think we all need to realize the fact that trying to be the most popular, trendy, or famous person will only lead to our own self destruction. Trying to please the world is like trying to breathe with a wet blanket over your face; you just suffocate from the frustration of it all. That's because the world lies and schemes against us. It really has nothing to offer us that will quench the desires of our hearts and that's why we must continually focus on Jesus. Jesus not only is the best representation of the love we yearn for, but He is infinite and will never fade away. Just because we don't see Him doesn't mean He doesn't exist. I think that's why so many of us strive for things of the world; they appear tangible, when in reality, they are the things that are the most easily destroyed and ripped out from under us. God's love for us, once we accept Christ as our Savior, can never be destroyed, but so many refuse to trust it because it doesn't appear to be tangible. Many would rather live their lives on their terms because they think they know what is best, but that's the sure fire way to failure. There's a song by House of Heroes called "Comfort Trap" that depicts how so many of us chafe against the will of God during the sanctification process of our lives because we are still convinced that we know best, even though God created us and is the reason we are alive. The following lines really hit home with me and how easily it is to fall into the trappings of the world:

I lost my dream in the comfort trap.

I told my God his will could wait,

I've got one foot in a rich man's grave,

I heard it calling in my sleep at night,

So I killed my dream with a butcher knife,

I told my heart to toe the line,

You had all that time, the rest is mine.

I'm gonna get nice things and get my way,

Even if it means there's hell to pay,

I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too,

And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you,

I'm not looking for consolation,

Maybe I could settle for compensation,

Have my cake and eat it too,

And if it's all a lie I'm gonna say it's all true.

It's scary to think that people live this defiantly to God, but they do, including Christians, periodically. It's not easy to go where God calls us. We all want to do things our own way, having our cake and eating it too. And yes, we even find a way to convince ourselves we're on the right path, even when it's quite clear that we're not. It can all just lead to living one big perpetual lie because each and every day we are bombarded with opinions from worldly critics on how to conduct our lives. Everyone offers suggestions about how to get a job, save money, and live up to the American Dream. The problem is the fact that while we are striving for the American Dream, our souls are shriveling and not getting fed the living water that Christ has to offer. Every time we make that decision to listen to the world and its desires before listening to God the Father, we are taking a step away from heaven. As the verses above state, if our hearts are more consumed with worldly desires, then the love of God does not truly reside in us. It all comes down to how you choose to function on a daily basis. You can choose to strive after the things that will fade away and disappoint, or you can choose to have faith and allow God to rule your life and lead you down the right path, even if it isn't a path that is accepted by worldly standards. But that's the whole point. The life and walk of the Christian should never blend in with the world; it should always stand out and look weird. If your life looks too much like that of the popular crowd, you're probably doing something wrong in the eyes of Jesus. He was the original rebel who went against the grain of society, so we must follow suit, but not in a way that we desire to get noticed. We must go against the grain because that is what we're called to do, not because it's trendy. 

So we all have a decision to make. We can either continue to live for the finite things of this world in the hopes that they will fill the void in our hearts, or we can choose to live for God who is infinite and unchanging. It's a very personal choice and not one that should be taken lightly. My hope is that more will realize that abiding in God is the best route to take because it is the only way to ensure eternal life in heaven. It's time to stop living for what's here on Earth and instead look up to God and surrender in faith.

The Slippery Slope of Worldliness

Back in high school I used to run cross country. It was known as the sport that never got cancelled despite horrendous weather. There are two races in particular that stand out vividly in my mind where I remember running through torrential downpours. One was during my sophomore year at the DeSales Invitational, while the other was a dual meet at Montrose during my senior year. At the DeSales Invitational, it began downpouring as we were walking the course. It rained so hard in the matter of 90 minutes that a small stream that was only a foot wide and an inch deep when we walked the course ended up being ten feet wide and two feet deep at certain points by the beginning of the race. It was definitely a treacherous portion of the course that devoured some racing spikes off the feet of those who were unprepared and hadn't taped them to their feet. The day I ran at Montrose, it had downpoured all day, so the team was prepared for a mud fest. Without the proper spikes, we all would have been slipping and sliding all over the place. Fortunately, we were all prepared and the only fall occurred about 100 yards into the downhill start when I stepped in a hole and slid on my butt as fast as the rest of the pack was running.
I mention these stories to demonstrate how one must be prepared and aware in the sport of running to avoid slipping and falling, or potentially losing shoes. Without foreknowledge during poor weather, the potential for disaster increases. The same goes for the unprepared and unaware Christian. Satan desperately wants to trip people up so they slide back into the ways of worldliness. He prides himself on infusing individuals with pride that leads to self righteousness, lusts that lead to adultery, or envy that leads to covetousness. He may even work in more subtle ways, like causing an obsession with social media and your amount of followers, or putting you in situations where it might be easy to fall back into a dependence on alcohol.
We've all encountered particular temptations and fought battles in our minds over our desires to be popular and important, fashionable and in vogue, along with wealthy and well to do. The Bible contains its fair share of warnings against these wordly temptations, most strikingly in Matthew 16:26, which states, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" Many do not live with an eternal perspective, but prefer to settle and be focused on the here and now. With this single-mindedness and tunnel vision, people strive for wealth and material possessions, rather than chasing after God. They forget the words Jesus uttered in Mark 10:23, reminding us of the near impossibility of a wealthy man finding his way to heaven.
"Lose My Soul" is a song by TobyMac featuring Kirk Franklin and Mandisa that hits the nail on the head when it comes to the topic of worldliness. Towards the end of the song, Mandisa sings the following lines: "How do I sense the tide that's rising? De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity. How do I sense the tide that's rising? Hypnotizing me from living in the light of eternity." This is a perfect description of how people live their lives today; de-sensitived to real issues and hypnotized by all of the temptations of the world. The pressure to maintain status leads to covetousness, that is, desiring the possessions that others have and hoping to acquire them. Even in his book Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel, Rolf Potts wrote, "There is still an overwhelming social compulsion--an insanity of consensus, if you will--to get rich from life rather than live richly, to 'do well' in the world instead of living well." Rather than focusing on what we do not have, people need to heed Jesus' warning and reminder in Luke 12:15 to not fall victim to covetousness because there is more to life than possessions. Unfortunately for many, though, the need for status is the driving force behind their lives, which only plunges them into despair and potential substance abuse.
Sinking into the quagmire of worldliness is dangerous for the Christian. There's a difference between mingling with the worldly and being of the world. One can strive to be successful, yet still have Jesus as the driving force behind that success. The trick is to maintain a close relationship with God through prayer and reading the Bible, along with having a close group of brothers or sisters in Christ who can help you out when you feel yourself sliding down the slippery slope into the murky waters of the world. It's good to have a close few who can keep you in check and pray for you when you sense you're sliding into the depths of wealth, status, potential substance abuse, impatience, envy, anger, and any other number of worldly actions and desires. They can suggest scriptures, pray, and keep focused wholeheartedly on Jesus.
A beautiful analogy for how this Christian partnership can work mirrors my recent experience at the 5K Foam Fest. One of the first obstacles in the race involved going through a mudpit. The suction power of this mud was so great that some people either lost shoes or couldn't move their feet. My friend's feet were completely stuck, so I had to literally pull her forward to garner enough momentum in order for her feet to be released from the grip of the mud. Then, in order to get out of the mud pit, we had to climb out using a rope and teamwork. I helped my friend climb out first and then she helped pull me out so that I didn't slip and fall back into the mud.
As Christians, this is how we must function, utilizing teamwork and resources to combat against slipping down into worldliness. We must constantly communicate with God and be familiar with the Scriptures so the devil doesn't gain a stronghold in our brains. Also, we must maintain a support system of fellow Christians whom we can trust to pray for us in difficult times and who can offer support in our times of weakness. They must be people you can be open and honest with so that their prayers can be specific to target the battle you're fighting against Satan and the world. Finally, if you're unsure about where your own heart might stand at this point in time, use Luke 12:34 as a kind of litmus test: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."