Are You a Comfortable Christian?

I can see that I am often close to the things of this world, more than I think and I should ought to be. Not that we shouldn’t enjoy the things we have in this world, but we should know that if something doesn’t work out, if the TV blows, or if our dishwasher leaks and is past the ‘returnable and refundable’ period, we shouldn’t get upset, and blame this person, the next guy, or in some rare cases, God. Why did you let this happen? We think. We fail to realise the basic fact that we didn’t get all of these things by ourselves anyway, and it was God who inherently gave us the abilities and skills that we have, in order for us to do work, collect our income, and therefore attain the items and material possessions that our heart desires at a particular point in time. We couldn’t have done all of this, survive, in the place called ‘Earth’ all on our own.

Whether we acknowledge that God is in control or not, we also know that we haven’t made it in this world alone, and that our friends and family have helped us along the way. But I have stopped and paused, wondered about whether our quest for materialistic gain, our quest for the perfect life in terms of comfortableness, has led us into a false sense of security, into us believing that when we see the injustice and inequality in this world, the solution would just be to ‘roll down the window and throw some cash outside’. I’ll admit it, I’m a comfortable Christian. I’ve noticed, and seen the injustice in this world...but I still like my TV, my computer, not to mention all my CD’s and DVD’s. Delirious?’s latest studio album, Kingdom of Comfort, speaks very clearly into the heart of every Christian- a comfortable Christian at that. Check out the title track- ‘...save me, from the kingdom of comfort where I am king, from my unhealthy lust of material things. I rob myself of innocence with the poison of my indifference. I buy my stuff at any cost, a couple of clicks and I pay the price coz what I gain is someone else’s loss...’ Revealing, huh? How as human beings we long for the new car, the new house, maybe even the new ‘wife’, but then we laugh and scorn when someone poses the question like- surely we should be thankful that we are even ALIVE to begin with, before we can even think about possessions.

But in this society, we never wake up with the mentality that we are alive, usually it is ‘Oh, what do I have to do at work today?’ or ‘Is that dog barking again?’ In my life, and it has been difficult, I have been trying, and it’s been working to say the least. Every day I’ve tried to get into this mentality that this story that I’m living in is not about me. It’s not about how much money I make in 10 years time, nor is it about how many possessions I own. If I behave and act like that man in Jesus’ parable that went and built a barn to hoard all his possessions, then I’ve missed the plot. My story is to be in God’s story. That’s it. Wherever he leads, I will go. That does sound like a bold statement, and you readers probably will scratch your heads and wonder whether I’ve woken up on the right side of the bed or not. But be it crazy as it sounds, I know my place in the never ending story of God. I know that my purpose goes beyond writing good blogs, it goes beyond doing well at uni; it goes beyond having a good career, a good house, a good life. Because sooner or later, if those ‘passions’ start to define us, it’ll all be for the wrong reasons, and we will, sooner or later become disappointed with it all. Sooner or later, there will be a better house on the street. There will be a better video game console. Buildings fall at the end of the day. Even books get old, and probably in a few years time, Don Bradman will be forgotten forever.

My point? If our goal is to be remembered at the end of the day, to have a legacy based on what we do- we cannot do it. Sure we will leave a legacy, based on what we do, but it won’t last to the effect that we want it to. When the last clap fades, we will be forgotten. We are born, we live, and we die, and sure we can do great things in this world, but it could be for all the wrong reasons. If our heart isn’t in the right spot, if our passion becomes our purpose, then we need a reality check. And this is what reality is- our purpose is to glorify God as much as possible considering each circumstance of the day, and to leave our story of me-centred society, our story of indifference, our story of collecting and storing, and abandoning it at the feet of Jesus, going to him and saying that we want to make a positive difference in this world, a difference that will last, that won’t stop when history fades into nothingness, a purpose that will last for eternity. 

I’ve realised that sometimes a riveting song with catchy lyrics and good music can evoke in someone something so much more powerful than listening to a boring sermon made by the most boring pastor ever alive. Music, sometimes even film, crosses national boundaries. I guess you can say that music and film are the indirect language that everyone speaks. And I guess that when you look at all the songs and music that have been created over the history of mankind, it’s no wonder it’s another language. Everything, ranging from struggles, questions, worship, praise, humanity, everything is talked about in songs, and I guess it’s almost expected that when you’re recording, to stretch musical boundaries- to pose to the listener, is this normal? Is this the way we should live our lives, and if not, how do we live it? Sure this world is in pain, and we may never understand how everything works, but we do know the One who does. And in some ways, we often are caught up in all the busyness that we miss the beauty of stories- like the Aesop fable, the ant and the grasshopper.  The ant and the grasshopper fable was one that “...[concerns] a grasshopper who has spent the warm months singing away while the ant worked to store up food for winter. After the winter has come, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger and upon asking the ant for food is only rebuked for its idleness...” I believe that this tale about the ant and grasshopper poses a lot of questions, for me at least. At first glance, the ant represents all the hard workers in society, and the grasshopper represents those who don't work so hard, those who sing away, even when everyone else is working. Therefore, when it is looked at in that way, I guess it is right, for the ant not to help the grasshopper, as to some extent, he brought it on himself. 

However, in James 2: 14-17, it claims that “…what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? Can that faith save you? Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, ‘God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!’- If you don’t give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead...” Sure the ant has a right to refuse the grasshopper when he comes scabbing for food, but is it right? The western world can feel very reluctant to help those in Africa. We see ourselves almost like the ant and them the grasshopper. We say we want to help them, and according to James, we have the faith. But do we have the deeds to back it up? All we ever do is throw money at the problem, and then we just think that if we close our eyes and carry on with everyday life, things are going to get better.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes millions of companies and financial organisations give money to the South-East Asian countries when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami hit- they also even staged a cricket match to raise funds for the cause...but that is all they do. Have you ever heard if the CEO of McDonalds flew to Sri Lanka or India, to assess the damage the tsunami gave, and then offered to help out in any way possible? It’s always been money. It’s a story that has been told from generation to generation, a story that money will and can solve everything. But everyone knows this isn't true. Money can't buy a lot of things, to name a few...a good wife/husband who loves you for the way you are as a person, not by what you do; good friends who respect you, even if they have different points of view; a great family, great children...

In this day and age, we think that the more you have, the more you will be happy. But when one looks at it, a lot of stories have been told throughout society that when you analyse it all, the more you’ll question whether anything is valid at all. I guess that is why in today’s culture, the young are noticing the trend that material things aren’t fulfilling them. Cricket matches don’t fulfil me, as I know now that money is more of an incentive for players’ right now than playing for their country. Every sports team will lose sooner or later, and that would mean that if we seriously lived our lives according to our culture today, we’d be depressed every single day because our ‘team’ lost. 

But to tell you the truth, there is something that fills us, like a cup overflowing- the story of Jesus. But you may think; this story of Jesus is cliché. Yes, it is; someone who came to save mankind from eternal destruction. Sort of like a Superman figure. But let’s get this straight- God yearns for us to understand that he is more than enough for us to live, and that if it is not the King of Kings, if it is not the Lord of Lords that we're worshipping, then it is something else. The lie and story that has been told that if we’re not religious, we’re not a worshipping kind, is totally wrong. For if we do not put our trust in a superior being, we will put our trust in something, something that we think will fulfil us. Everyone denies being a worshipper, but it is what we do all so well.