One C leads to another. Our society is geared around consumerism: I can have what I want right when I want it whenever I want it. Instant gratification: I want it NOW. Hungry? Grab some McDonald’s. Anxious? Watch a funny TV show on Netflix. Bored? Do just about anything you want, granted you have the money. We are slaves to our desires.
I grew up with this. It’s what I know so well. And it’s why I can see how damaging it is- the damage it’s done in my life and the damage it’s doing in all our lives.
I would rather check Facebook first thing in the morning than open God’s word. I would rather spend too much on some trendy health food than cook a meal at home. I would rather do just about anything but practice the spiritual disciplines I need to in order to abide in Him. Because it’s all just so much easier.
“Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one.” ~ Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas
I think the worship of comfort is one of my biggest downfalls, and I know I’m not alone. I grew up very comfortable, and in fact quite entitled to that comfort. Hard work was not something I was too familiar with and the repercussions show themselves over and over. Without work and effort, nothing good or fruitful can be produced. We keep trying to take shortcuts, but they are shortcuts to nowhere.
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead… You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” ~James 2:14-24 ESV
Sometimes we fall prey to the Grace-license script: God forgives me for everything I do so therefore I can do whatever I want and His grace will always cover me.
I mean, yes, it’s true… but God never wants us to stay where we are. When we choose comfort and worldly goods over His kingdom, we are choosing the far lesser of the two; in fact there is not even a comparison. We are choosing mud instead of diamonds and rubies. But we do it all the time and expect some long-term satisfaction that worldly comforts can never give us.
Sometimes God calls us to be uncomfortable. Sometimes He calls us to take a risk. As the pastor at my church adequately put it tonight: Sometimes His will doesn’t align with our desires. And we have a choice to obey or rebel.
I don’t want to rebel anymore, because nothing I do apart from Him produces fruit in my life. The shortcuts leave me feeling unfulfilled and empty. I’m ready to take the long and winding road.
rhythms of grace 