I heard a story the other day about a couple who just had a new baby. There was some concern that their dog, a rescue with some human interaction issues, might pose a danger to the newborn. So they were sending Rover to obedience training. The hope was that, through this training and life preparation, Rover would be able to exist in his newly altered society as a good citizen and make a positive contribution to the community.
Sit. Stay. Heel. Good boy…
If this expected obedience is not applied, there is a possibility for a societal shift for Rover, or worse.
When it comes to the Christian faith, I’ve often struggled with doing all of ‘the things’ that are required to live the Christian life. I recall a time when early church experiences were observational and peripheral. I remember, as a young lad, during a church service where I was outside the big service, attending a children’s Sunday School class when, on my way to the bathroom or something, I glanced into the big service and saw all of the adults sitting in their pews and wondered to myself “what if they’re all wrong?”
Was it some sort of cultural performance, or was it real? Maybe both.
Later in my Christian pursuit as a teen (think the early 80s), I attended youth Bible studies, participated in retreats, and enjoyed the coed piece of it a great deal (crushes…major crushes). I sometimes prayed and had what I believed to be an honest pursuit of the Christian faith. My faith became less observational and more active. Yet in addition, I smoked a lot of pot and made out with a lot of girls. While I was pursuing God, there were other pursuits that took my interest and grabbed my allegiance.
College was more of the same. An effort to pursue God, coupled with the pursuit of the pleasures outside of his design. A yearned desire to do the faith-thing correctly counterbalanced with activities not aiding that yearn.
Fast forward to a new life in Atlanta. Married. Children. Career. Mortgage. And more. Yet as a guy from the north living in the south, the culture was much different. And the ‘adult Christian experience’ was something of a big deal. It’s common for a question in the metro Atlanta area to be “Where do you go to church?”. You see, the Church is so steeped in culture that it can become as much of a measure of effectiveness as how well your kid does in baseball, or which SEC school they will attend, often to the mind, codependent on each other.
Now, the South—the Bible belt—is undoubtedly not the only place with achievement qualifiers of faith, but it is a standard bearer. And those standards are high. Read your Bible. Have a quiet time. Dress appropriately. Don’t cuss. Don’t masturbate. Give the tenth. Go to church. Learn the verse. Evangelize. Behave.
Pray. Read. Serve. Good boy…
If this expected obedience is not applied, there is a possibility for a societal shift for you, or worse.
It seems there’s an inbred nature of allegiance to reputation, and allegiance to faith that is evident and embedded in the culture. I’ve felt its judgment. And I’ve judged myself by its standards. The intermingling of cultural norms, life, work, beliefs, and the realities of following Jesus constantly wrestle with each other.
I often find myself caught up in this wrestling match between the culture of God and the culture of man. What’s his? And what’s ours? As a result, when times are tough, or things are ‘off,’ I can bring out my paddle and strike my own behind because I think I should do better. Do ‘the things.’
This often produces in me a sense of pride and critique. I shared about this in my last blog post— this battle between my God-given intuitions and human-held opinions.
I’ve come to consider the two sides of this coin as Operating Systems. Like, if God’s system is Apple, why do I mess around on Microsoft’s platform? God’s design—his OS—is the one that I should utilize. The one I should abide in—find my inspiration in—find my intention in. And his OS does use things like prayer, the reading of scripture, loving the neighbor, AND the enemy. It does require obedience to these things—these ways of God. His design. More and more, I am learning to embrace these things vs. fabricating a performative intent behind them.
Sure, performance is rampant in Christian spaces. And often we can use ‘the things’ as qualifiers of our faith or, equally, the faith of others. But God’s not in the qualifying business anymore. He took care of that on the cross. For all of us. For evermore.
I continue to realize that God’s OS does require obedience to ‘the things’ Yet, I’m realizing that “obedience” is not about dos and don’ts. It’s about a submission to a flow—the design of God, his intentions for me, and mankind.
Obedience is not behavior; it is agreement.
There is freedom in God’s OS. Judgment is a non-participant.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
- Galatians 5:1
Pray. Read. Serve, Rick…
Jesus did these things. He displayed life in God’s OS, not in accordance with the religious norms. Go and do likewise.