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| God did not take us home the minute we receive Christ as our Saviour but has let us live the rest of our lives for a purpose. God has a plan for each of us and we are to serve God and be of service to others. With our identity in Christ as children of God, we are to do our part which is to have faith and trust in God and do His Will for us. As Christians, we are taught to put off our old self and its desires because we have a new attitude and a new self created to be like God. (refer Eph 4:22-24) We are also to 'live as children of Light...in all goodness, righteousness and truth and to find out (do) what pleases the Lord.' (refer Eph 5:8-10) It is only when we live our lives for God by putting God's teaching into actions that we find true happiness and have a meaningful Christian life. Generally there are 3 basic needs which keep us going in our daily lives, namely : - Physical Needs (eg. food, lodging, health, wealth...) - Personal Needs (eg. career, achievements, family, friends...) - Spiritual Needs (eg. relationship with God, fulfilments for our soul, spiritual fruits...) These needs motivate us to set goals. In present times, many of us are being bogged down by our goals and commitments. Sometimes, we remember to let God be involved in our goals (we pray for blessings & seek God's approval). At other times, we just "cannot remember to go to God". Of course, there are times when we choose to put God aside. It is not uncommon to hear Christians (& ourselves) complaining grudgingly: "God is not working in my life." "God is not hearing or answering my prayers & request." "Life is getting miserable, God does not seem to care about me." "God, why are you doing this to me? Where are you when I needed you most?" Such grievances are filled with despair, emptiness, dissatisfaction, misery... and most of all, there is the obvious lack of self-worth & confidence in Christ. Such Christians are blaming God and think that God is the cause of their misery. But what actually makes us behave in this way towards God? Then we need to first examine ourselves honestly & ask : "Have I been obeying God's teachings? Have I been living Christ-like or am I a self-centred Christian?" Who is the Self-centred Christian? Literally he is one who lives for himself and around his self (desires). His general behaviour is : ~ Does not allow Christ to be the core of his life.(God is displaced by his Self) ~ God is for trouble-shooting & for emergency only. ~ Does not make effort to live Christ-like but expect to enjoy spiritual gifts/fruits. ~ Remembers God on his lips only and when he is at church. ~ Reluctant and hesitant to do God's Will (usually only listens but without actions) ~ Resent undesirable circumstances and blame God for any kind sufferings. ~ Lives in fear of failures, anxieties & rejections (Little or no confidence in God). ~ Has insatiable desires for worldly things. (coveteousness) ~ Conceited by his self-righteousness, prideful (putting aside the need for God's wisdom) ~ Impatient with almost everything (simply cannot wait for things to happen at his timing). ~ He measures everything by his own dimension, with his human nature ~ Feels a need to see 'evidence' from God to substantiate God's plan. (Does not trust God enough) The self-centred Christian's life is focused on his self desires and achievements rather than on God. Although a Christian, he does not seek God's righteousness first in his life but remains under the influences of his old nature (the desires for wealth, recognition...etc). He has no regard for God's plan and goes about his life in his own will and strength rather than let God be involved. In good times, he is happy with each success because he is very proud of every of his achievements. He counts and depends on his goals and achievements for his happiness. He also believes that the accumulation of his materialistic gains will win recognition from the people around him (boosting his ego). He hears God's Word and teachings but does not practise it in his daily living. He does not draw on God's strength and wisdom and so the promises of God for him remains to be fulfilled. In other words, the self-centred Christian has 'obstructed' God's work in his life by his own doing. Needless to say, most of the time he does not feel the need for God. In truth, his achievements without God is short-lived and the satisfaction is temporary. He will feel for another need again and having this "cannot be satisfied" attitude, this cycle for goal after goals stops at nowhere. Eg : He desires a car, works hard and got it. Soon he will long for a better car or something else ..like money. When he got the money, he will desire for more. "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income..." Ecc 5:10 It is the same for any other thing he desires. In time to come, the pursuit becomes wearisome and feels like a chasing of the wind, resulting in a meaningless life. What happens if obstacles or failures comes into his path? Quickly blamed God (& others) except himself - this is the loudest! He will overlook the fact that he has been keeping God out of his activities and has acted the master of his life. Yet, he expects God to ensure his goals are being achieved. When things do not happen as he wishes, he thinks God is against him and foils his efforts. He gets angry with God; bitterness and resentment creep in together with a false sense of betrayal resulting in a negative attitude towards God. In truth, the understanding he has is in his own dimension only and the directions he is in were his choice. He is like a man paving a road alone for himself, without knowing what lies ahead. He is weary because he is doing it all in his own strength. When faced with obstacles, he relies on his own judgement and the emotional stress (anxiety, fear ...) may be too much for him to bear. Unless he is ready to admit his problem and willing to present his problem to God, seeking His forgivenss and help, the problem can grow beyond his ability to contain. In some unfortunate cases, he may even turn away from God altogether. The CURE : be a Christ-centred Christian! The Christ-centred Christian does quite the opposite things of the self-centred Christian. ~ He puts God first in his life. God sits on the throne of his life. ~ His biggest desire is to please God therefore he is not enslaved to his own self. ~ He makes efforts to live Christ-like (in accordance to God's principles) thus bearing spiritual fruits like love, joy, peace & hope ~ H fears God (out of love, respect & obedience) and tries to see things from God's angle. ~ Hears God's command, accepts and does it (obedient to God's will) ~ Does not put expectations on God & others but live by the grace of God. ~ He has confidence in God's plan and patience in God's timing. ~ He seeks God's approval in all his endeavours. ~ Whatever he has to do, he does it as assignments for the Lord with all his heart. (Joh 17:18) ~ Undesirable circumstances are taken in his stride, with full confidence and strength in Christ. ~ Setbacks, failures & rejections do not weaken his faith in God but he overcomes these together with God. ~ With his knowledge & confidence in God, spiritual trials strengthen his faith & build his character in God's grace. His emotional stress is overcome with love, peace and hope in God. ~ He praises God for blessing him with successes and he thanks the Lord for being by his side at all times. ~ He appreciates whatever he has as gifts from God. Gladness fills his heart always as he enjoys the sufficiency in his Giver. ~ He treats the Lord like a bosom friend and shares with him as much as possible, in good times and bad times as well as regular times too! ~ He found freedom in Christian living because he is at peace with God. Both the self-centred and Christ-centred Christians are children of God. They have the same Holy Spirit, same faith and the same promises & love of God but their very different attitude and behaviour towards God bring them different meanings in their Christian living. Unlike the self-centred Christian, the Christ-centred Christian dwells intently in God's teaching. He believes that he is empowered by the Holy Spirit in him to activate God's strength & wisdom for use as & when required (eg : spiritual fruits/gifts, armour of God..etc). His faith & trust in God help him to live by God's Word. He is assured that God is always by his side. Even if he has taken the wrong road, he trusts God to redirect him to the right path. He feels God's presence all the time because he does not live his life alone. The Christ-centred person also enjoys an enhanced sense of self-worth in Christ. He has a positive and stimulating attitude towards God. He is in harmony with God's Plan and enjoys a soul fulfilling walk with Christ. Let us look at both of them as if reflecting on ourselves in the mirror. Very likely, we will be able to identify ourselves with one or both of them in one way or another, at some point in our lives, if not always. Bearing in mind God's teaching found in James 1:23-25, we must not forget the lessons learnt like the way we forget how we look like after walking away from the mirror. We must pay attention to what we have learnt and then put it into practice so as to enjoy God's blessings. God tells us that it is good and proper for us to work hard and to enjoy the fruits of our labour (wealth & possessions) because these are gifts from God. (refer Ecc 5:18 - 19) But we should be discerning with the way we set our goals in our lives.. We should also review regularly on the priorty, the time & effort and the attitude we have when trying to meet our daily needs. Very often, out of the 3 basic needs we have, we tend to give the least to our spiritual needs but we expect it to be the most efficient one to help us out in the worst situation. We know we have a need for God in our lives. So it is important to put in as much effort as we can to build a strong relationship with God for Him to work in our lives. The next time when we have the urge to say "God is not working in my life" and such alike - STOP for a quick prayer to God then ask ourselves : "Who Am I?" (A self-centred or Christ-centred Christian) Our frank answer will tell our stand. Knowing our choice (whether to live for God or for ourselves) will help us make the right decision as to which path we should take. "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love." ...1 Cor 1:13-14. Amen |
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| "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these will be given upon you." Matthew 6:24 |
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