Are You Playing the Christian Game?

[b][u]The Christian Game[/u][/b]
Jordan is a graceful blonde who is active in her church, has loving Christian parents, and is surrounded by wonderful Christian friends. She is gearing up for her first year at a well known Christian university. On the outside, her life seems perfect. But Jordan has a shameful secret. She is involved in an ongoing sexual relationship that no one knows about. She is living a secret life of compromise.

"I feel so far away from God right now," she whispered bitterly after explaining her dilemma to me. "I can't seem to stop sinning no matter how much I want to. I have prayed and prayed about this, but God never gives me any answers!

I really need to know something," Jordan pleaded desperately. "Does Christianity even work, or is it all just a fairy tale?"

Jordan is trapped in the Christian game.

And then there is Trent, a brainy history buff who wrote a lengthy email describing his spiritual struggle. Trent attended a Christian leadership retreat and got extremely excited about pursuing a deep relationship with Christ. But a few weeks after his return home, the passion faded.

"No matter how hard I try to grow in my walk with Christ," he lamented, "I just don't feel the fire. No matter what I do to stay pumped up spiritually, it just doesn't last." Trent attends church and studies his Bible, but inwardly he wallows in depression and disillusionment.

Trent is trapped in the Christian game.

How many of us have been in Jordan or Trent's position? We [i]believe[/i] the right things, [i]say[/i] the right things, and even [i]do[/i] the right things, only to end up right back where we started: defeated, discouraged, and conquered by sin. We know the truth in theory, but it has no power to really transform our lives at the deepest level. We go through the motions of Christianity while secretly asking ourselves, [i]Is this all there is?[/i]

We are trapped in the Christian game.

[b][u]"Just Be Real" Christianity[/u][/b]
Our generation has seen the hypocrisy of make-believe Christianity and, to put it mildly, we don't like it. Thousands of us are saying [i]"Hasta la vista"[/i] to the playacting version of following God. While earlier generations were prone to super-stiff religiosity and legalistic formulas, many of us in this generation have headed in the opposite direction, determined to [i]be real[/i] about our emotions, struggles, and failures.

This has led to a common form of imitation Christianity we call "just be real" Christianity. Don't get us wrong. Being real is important. Admitting that we aren't perfect is the first step towards discovering successful Christianity. But it isn't the final goal. [i]Being real[/i] and finding a [i]real Christian experience[/i] are two very different things.

Paul, a 23 year old Bible school student has decided to "be real" about his lustful addictions. "I'm hooked on pornography!" he blurts flippantly. "That's just the way it is. God knows I'm only human, and I'm not gonna beat myself up about it."

Tiffany, an 18 year old Christian, has chosen to be open about her burning anger toward her Creator. "I hate God sometimes," she boldly declares. "I wish I could scream in His face. He's treated me like garbage. And I think it's better to be honest about it than act like everything's fine."

The "just be real" version of Christianity removes the plastic bandage and exposes the infection underneath. But the "just be real" version doesn't allow the wound to be healed; it only acknowledges that the wound exists.

It is vital that we acknowledge the emptiness of the Christian game. But when we settle for the "just be real" version of Christianity, we are still miles away from the true Christian life. We admit defeat, but we never search for victory. We are honest about our problems, but we ignore the solution. We remain trapped in the Christian game.

[b][u]"God Loves Me Anyway" Christianity[/u][/b]
A common accessory to the "just be real" mind-set is the "God Loves Me Anyway" version of imitation Christianity.

The "God loves me anyway" attitude ignores God's command to "BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." It shies away from the sting of conviction. It buries the prick of guilt. And it treats every spiritual challenge that triggers even the slightest emotional discomfort as if it were the first symptom of the bubonic plague. And the pain of sin's havoc upon our soul is alleviated with smooth religious rhetoric.

Kelly grew up in a strict religious home, full of rules but devoid of unconditional love. In college, when Kelly began a serious romantic relationship with a worship leader named Damon, things began to turn around. She felt loved and accepted for the first time in her life.

Though Kelly and Damon had committed to save sex until marriage, one night in the heat of passion, they gave in to temptation. Afterwards, Kelly was plagued with intense guilt. She sat alone in her room for hours, crying with remorse over the mistake she and Damon had made. She knew she had let God down.

But the very next night, she heard a message at church that eased her mind. The pastor seemed to be speaking directly to her. "Christ doesn't condemn us," he declared with conviction. "He loves us just the way we are in all our sin and weakness. God doesn't expect us to be perfect. He knows we are stuck in the mire of our sinfulness. He knows we can't achieve a holy life."

Then the pastor told his listeners to close their eyes and simply receive God's unconditional love. As the worship team played a soft reflective melody, Kelly closed her eyes and felt a sense of relief flood her soul. She repeated the pastor's words that God loved her in spite of her failure, that He didn't expect her to be perfect.

And Kelly's guilt floated away like a cloud.

Since then, Kelly and Damon have maintained an ongoing sexual relationship. Kelly continues to push away any feelings of guilty by listening to inspiring messages about God's unconditional love. She convinces herself that God accepts her in spite of her mistakes and that He doesn't expect her to change.

Kelly, like so many in our disillusioned generation, has pitched her tent in the "God loves me anyway" camp. Though she is enslaved to compromise and defeated by sin, she has given up trying to overcome these obstacles. When it comes to her Christian walk, she doesn't even consider exploring the endless frontier of God's ways. She spends her energy reminding herself that God loves her in the midst of her miserable-but-forgiven state. And she has given up expecting anything more.

It's important to note that there is a thread of truth woven into the false foundation of the "God loves me anyway" attitude. It is true that God knows our sinful condition and loves us in spite of our failures. He is not looking down at us with angry eyes, burning with fury every time we make a mistake. He loves us more than we could ever comprehend.

[i]But He loves us too much to leave us as we are.[/i]

Sin--the self-reliance and self-assurance at the core of our beings--is the very thing Jesus Christ came to this earth to conquer. And as long as this selfish rule is the controlling force within our souls, His mighty work on the cross two thousand years ago is rendered ineffective in our lives. While sin remains the ruler of our inner domain, we can never experience the true Christian life.

If we settle for the "God loves me anyway" approach to life, we will never experience more than a shallow, mediocre spiritual existence. We will remain under the thumb of sin's tyranny, trying to cover up our remorse with T-shirts that say, "I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven."

God did not send His only Son to conquer sin and death on our behalf just so we could wallow in defeat and compromise while singing songs about His unconditional love. Jesus Christ died to give us [i]true[/i] life--a life marked by a radiance and righteousness that transforms our entire existence.

[b][u]"Professional" Christianity[/u][/b]
Another modern pitfall is what could be called "Professional" Christianity.

Meet Mason, a 28 year old seminary graduate currently in search of a full-time pastoral position at a church. Mason knows Scripture better than most people know their own name. He believes all the right doctrinal truths. He even stands out to his non-Christian friends as a solid, moral guy who doesn't drink, do drugs, or sleep around.

But Mason's Christian life is hollow and self-constructed. There is nothing miraculous or supernatural about his spiritual existence. His aim in life isn't to climb God's holy mountain, but merely to live a life that is morally superior to those around him. He believes that God's expectations for his life equate to a little hill that can easily be tackled with some discipline and willpower.

Mason smirks at the concept of a God-written life. "God doesn't waste His time watching over us like a momma bear. He has better things to do. He doesn't care about the details of our lives. He just wants us to live morally and make good decisions."

Mason has pitched his tent in the "professional Christianity" realm. He has traded in the possiblity of a radical pursuit of Christ for a predictable moral existence. He has baked Christianity down to a formula he can easily accomplish in his own strength.

All too many of us fall into the "professional Christianity" trap. We separate God from the details of our daily lives. We reduce our Christian walk to a set of reasonable guidelines to follow. We remove all the risk, passion, and radical obedience from our spiritual life. And we revel over the points we've scored in the Christian game.

[b][u]Getting Out of the Christian Game[/u][/b]
It's hard for us to admit when we are wrong. And it's especially hard for us to admit that we have bought into a cheap imitation of the true Christian life. But that's where the God-scripted adventure begins. Before a settler can be transformed into a pioneer, he must first become dissastisfied with his current surroundings. He must recoginze his need for something better.

If you are ready to begin your pursuit into God's endless frontier, take some time to ask yourself these soul-searching questions:

* When it comes to knowing Christ, have I stopped growing and pitched my tent? Have I bought into an imitation version of following God?

* Have I settled for a "just be real" mind-set, admitting that I have problems but not believing that God can grant me victory over them?

* Have I settled for a "God loves me anyway" attitude, taking sin lightly and letting selfishness, rather than righteousness, rule my life?

* Have I settled for "professional Christianity," reducing God's expectations for my life to a set of reasonable guidelines I can hope to accomplish on my own?

Be completely honest as you ask yourself these questions. Don't compare your life to those of Christians around you. Let Jesus Christ be your only standard. And as God begins to show you areas of your spiritual life that are off track, put these in writing and make a commitment to shift from settler to pioneer in these areas.

[i]taken from “When God Writes Your Life Story”, by Eric and Leslie Ludy[/i]

Great message in that. So true, and hits deep with myself as well. I once belonged to the "God loves me anyway" camp. I didn't realize it at the time, but now i look back and see the emptiness of the spirituality i had (or didn't have).

Don't compare your life to those of Christians around you. Let Jesus Christ be your only standard.

Amen and amen.

Glad you were encouraged. Yes, sadly, over the past few years, with the encouragement of Christians my age and past boyfriends, I too fell under the "God loves me anyway" Christianity. My fellow Christian brothers and sisters convinced me that we're all human and God understands our sin, and there went the prick of conviction! How TRUE it is that JESUS CHRIST needs to be our standard and not even other Christians.

I've think I've fallen MOSTLY under the "professional" Christianity and have even been tempted to fall under that category quite recently. It's A LOT easier to stick to a Christianity that's controllable and attainable by my OWN efforts. In the past I was REALLY good at being morally good and couldn't understand why other Christians couldn't do the same. I was humbled by my failure to be holy in the past few years which helped me be compassionate and understanding toward sinners. Now I can LOVINGLY extend a hand of help to my fellow brothers and sisters out of a life of sin without being self-righteous or spiritually prideful. And to not fall under this category again, I find myself praying for God to help me to CONTINUE to step out in faith, into the GREAT unknown, so that I DO have to keep trusting Him and relying on HIS strength to walk this Christian walk. I don't want my own self-constructed, not too difficult, predictable, settling for what I can handle in my own strength and understanding Christianity. I want ALL that God has for me and allow Him to do the IMPOSSIBLE in my life! =)!!!

It's A LOT easier to stick to a Christianity that's controllable and attainable by my OWN efforts.

Yeah, it is. Its' easy to get lost in the motion of things, leave our first love, and think we're okay. We say "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" but don't even realize that we're "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." May the Lord give us eyesalve that we may see.

Excellent post!! :-)

We admit defeat, but we never search for victory.

In 1700 the puritan Samuel Willard preached in a Boston Church about the degeneration of New England that he was witnessing. In his sermon he pointed out that a land does not become wicked merely with the existence of wicked people. Indeed, he observed, “In this world we must expect that wicked men will be mixed with the Godly…” Such a land may still see the “power of Godliness flourishing.” Where we must become gravely concerned about our land, is when those who are considered righteous behave wickedly and they suffer no reproach. This, he observed, is how we can tell the land has become wicked.

When “intemperate church members” become common in our churches, Willard said they are “an ill omen; for they are indisputable denials of the power of Godliness.”

300 years later, we are seeing too many of these 'indisputable denials' in our church seats and platforms.

They come in from the world each Sunday looking for comfort. They may be tired from their debt-ridden materialism, wounded from their sexual promiscuity, or empty from unfulfilled desires. They come to Sunday morning services, or Wednesday evening home groups to find phsycological comfort in praise music and encouraging fellowship. They join worship teams, or even lead Sunday school classes to find a sense of purpose.

The world they love so dearly abuses them so they come hoping Jesus can comfort them. They cry when he says to them “come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” But in the end they do not worship Him or follow him, or obey him. They do not believe there is a new life in Him.

I used to be 'softer' on these crowds. Yet that was also playing the Christian game. We love people's approval and perhaps their tithe money more then their eternal souls, so we don't confront their illusions and unbelief. Worse yet, we love our own luxuries and laziness too much to raise a standard in the congregation. The abundance of evil in our own houses has made us dim-witted and cool hearted towards the Lord. Yet if we did raise a standard, there are a few who would see that faith in Jesus leads to new life and might turn from their own hopeless pretending.

Lately I've been timidly electing to not play this hurtful game any more. I check myself, and my family...been taking steps to build up our family altar. I've challenged friend's hypocrisy with gentle precision and clarity. "What kind of tree grows the kind of fruit you display?" I've had a few harsh reactions, but for the most part many people already know that they are playing games.

We all find encouragement when someone is willing to believe there is more then defeat for the humble Christian. Unbelief will decry such a message as judgementalism and it's standard as legalism...but Godly faith responds with action.

I pray that the Lord helps us see each other through the lens of eternity. There are souls that will live for eternity...many who are even lost right in our own congregations.

Lord helps us rebuild the altars in our churches and our families.

MC

[b]lamuskrat[/b] - glad you liked the post.

[b]Compton (MC)[/b] - loved EVERYTHING you had to write. Thanks for sharing from your personal experience. And an "Amen" to your encouraging words for us and in agreement to your prayer.

I'm enjoying this book VERY much, but I WILL say, that whenever I read something like, "In modern Christianity...", "American Christianity today is...", or anything else that would state that Christianity is in a worse state or any different than it was back when it first started, I just think of Solomon's wisdom when he wrote, "... there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In Scripture, we see the letters of correction and instruction Paul had to write to the Christians in Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philipi, Colosse, and Thessalonica. Then there was Paul's concern for church leadership in his letters to Timothy and Titus. NOTHING has changed much from the very beginnings of Christian faith. EVERY generation of Christians has had its struggle living out the balance of being IN this world, but not OF it.

Yodi,

I believe the article you posted is dealing with the same issue as the revivalist preaching of the 1700's.

EVERY generation of Christians has had its struggle living out the balance of being IN this world, but not OF it.

Amen and this is a cause for great hope in our generation. From what I read, many thought that Christianity was going extinct in the days prior to the Great Awakening. That revival wasn't just an excitment of lukewarm Christians. On the contrary it was sparked when many established church members, went from being professing Christians to becoming truly born again.

If we read the content of Wesely, Whitefield, Edward's sermons, we see they could be generalized into two major themes; what is "almost Christianity" and what is "Altogether Christianity." It is a terribly humbling thought, that many of us who have asked to recive Jesus, have spent years preaching or singing on worship teams have never yet, as Whitefield said, "passed under a great change of heart".

Yet as Edwards said succinctly..."There is such a thing as conversion."

Today psycological security is the cheif aim of the gospel that is preached. After 9-11 churches were filled with people looking for comfort. As soon as they found a little...the crowds drained away.

But I believe the true Gospel will threaten our security. It will disturb us, embarrass us, dissolussion our faith, invalidate our testimonies, afflict us with dread and foreboding. It shakes everything that can be shaken out of love for our eternal souls! If we crave positional assurance of salvation from our theology books the Gospel will not relent because Jesus is actual and not theoretical! God's Godliness is actual and not transcendental!(Wesley and Edwards both insisted on the actuality in our Godliness, but try preaching such today...)

Not that Almost Christians can't have have literal "experiences" with Jesus. Indeed, as in the Gospel accounts, many kinds of people spoke with the Lord. 'O how we extoll people who weep at the altar after such encounters. How sincere and serious they are with God! Well tears are fine things for sure, but by themselves can take us no further to Heaven then the rich young man who encountered Jesus and left in sadness because of a deep-rooted love for worldly things.

Paul wrote to Timothy about those who have a form of Godliness but deny it's power. Your article was decrying the vain honesty of these church members in order to uphold the reality of the Gospel. Yes, the article talked about sad things but only to seperate light from darkness...to seperate almost Christianity from the hope that is available to all people!

What a remarkable hope...the "power of Godliness!"

Blessings Yodi!

MC

Thanks for this post, Sister. I think I will get the book!

[b]Compton (MC)[/b]

It is a terribly humbling thought, that many of us who have asked to recive Jesus, have spent years preaching or singing on worship teams have never yet, as Whitefield said, "passed under a great change of heart".

[b]MSeaman (Melissa)[/b]
Glad you were encouraged to check out this book for yourself. If you are inspired by it as you read, PLEASE share with us! [smile]

Re: Are you playing the Christian game?
Praise the Lord for those that He leads towards truth and honesty.
Yes indeed...how can anyone boast of something that the Lord has given them?
Oh how the devil tries to gain a foothold in our lives...
"Let this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross."- Php 2:5-8(kjv)
It is obvious that a true christian is a humble christian, denying oneself, overcoming evil with good, trusting God for all good things in His perfect time.
Let us continue to sit at His feet, forever learning and worshipping in truth and in spirit...for His ways and His thoughts are truly higher than man's...The Way of True Love.
Let us only boast in the Lord...
The Lord knows those that are His, for His sheep hear His voice.
Shalom, richie
Romans 6:10-13(kjv)

[b]Yeshuaboy (Richie)[/b]
Thank you for your reflective, thought-provoking comment. Yes, with honesty about our heart condition, there ALSO must come humility if God is to be allowed to change our hearts. And thanks for pointing us to Christ, Who is our ULTIMATE example of how to live our lives here on earth. [smile]

To have a change of heart... that is what Christ came to help us do

I come from a theological background where admitting your carnality is mistaken for humble faith in Christ. The Gospel I was taught was not the power of Godliness. The gospel was instead taught to provide security inspite of the reality of our heart. To this end the modern chuch has engineered an elaborate legal defense of the sinner...instead of proclaiming you must be born again. But God is not so shady and obtuse about the requirmement of righteousness...as North has said, God is primitive. He deals with elemental realities...darkness light, fire and ice, life and death. He deals with what is!

When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,and they will not escape.But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness."

The problem with many well meaning church people today, is that they mistake their very real experience with Jesus as the end of salvation. They mistake the wonderfulness of being called with the grace of being chosen. This is the crime of our modern gospel. And many shepherds, upon hearing the fearful conviction of their members, do not encourage them to sell all they have to buy that field where the pearl is buried. Instead, they take them down to Wal-Mart to buy a pearl over the counter. But there is this counsel to the children of light...

Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.

Praise God, I have much hope. More then ever really! The wind blows in ways we can't always see. I believe a fresh wind of revelation regarding the Gospel of salvation, is blowing in this land before the coming storm. let's not anticipate it's effects by what has been happening in the past 30 years. For many, those listless years held only breezes compared to the wind tunnel of the Holy Spirit that can capture us.

Let's just be careful to not mistake being called for being chosen. Let's turn wholeheartedly to God, let's not be snagged by the thicket of our theologies, but seek true and actual Godliness...letting go and falling limp to the things we hold on to in this world. Let's be carried away in these latter days!

Blessings all,

MC