Backwards!

Have you ever gotten anything backwards before?  I know I have!  If you are a guy and you're reading this, you've probably put something together without reading the directions first.  And just when you're ready to put that last piece together you realize something is wrong.  You realize that one piece is backwards and it simply messes everything else up.

I had a good friend call me this week (actually he was returning my original call) and he told me about this conversation he had with a friend of his.  He went on to tell me that his church is going through a transitional period and that his friend was not all about it.  He said that his friend started saying things like, "I don't like this, I don't like that, I'm not being fed"and so on.  He said to me, "Jimmy I didn't know what to do or what to say, I was just frustrated with the conversation".  He asked me, "What do you say to that?"

After thinking about it, my mind went to this picture I took of my son.  He was so excited that day!  He had gotten himself dressed and was so proud of himself!  He said, "Dad wook at me!"(He still can't say his "L's" right.)

You see it's so very easy to get things backwards, isn't it?  My friend's friend had one common theme in his words.  Did you catch it?  It was the word "I".  His focus was upon himself and not on God.  Too often we think that the church is supposed to be all about "us".  And that it should meet all "my needs".  The only problem with that is that it's not all about us.  In fact that kind of thinking is backwards!  Church is about God!  It's about worshipping a Holy God!  Not worshipping our likes, or tastes, or preferences but about worshipping our Creator.  We need to come to church in an attitude of surrender and offer our lives to Christ.

Romans 12:1 says,
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."


You see our purpose in life is to worship God!  To offer up our lives as a living sacrifice!  Not just to simply please ourselves, but to please God!  But in our market driven world it's so easy to get it backwards. Companies spend million's of dollars each year to try to convince you that YOU need their product.  YOU deserve this.  YOU deserve that.  Have it YOUR way.  All these things focus on our own selfish desires and that can spill into the church.

The funny thing is, is that we (as Christians) have become masters at "over spiritualizing" these things and we actually try to make ourselves sound more spiritual when we say things like "I'm not being spiritually fed,"or "I'm feeling led by God to go here or there."  Many times we can sound so spiritual and yet we can be so sinful because we're focused on our own selfish desires and not Godly ones!

It's much like my son's shorts.  When I first saw him I didn't realize they were on backwards.  Everything looked fine at first glance.  However when I took a closer look I realized something wasn't right.  It was then that he said, "Dad something doesn't feel right".  I think this is what my friend might have been feeling during his whole conversation with his friend.  Something just doesn't feel right?  That's because it can sound so "spiritual" and yet it might not be.

So lets always try to be careful about how we view our church and our attitude as we come into a worship service.  May we always come in with an expectation of worshipping God and not simply to do the things that we like or prefer.  Make sure that your shorts are on right (not backwards)!  Because it's not about us, it's all about Him!

Serving Him,

Jimmy