A Great Facade

At the heart of my non-spiritual spiritual walk was a desire to be thought-of as a spiritual man. I wanted people to think I had it going on, even when I did not. Or, perhaps I had a few things going on, but for the most part, it was an intellectual exercise. The intellectual side of Christianity has some merit, after all. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God, right?

Discussing the differences between eastern and western thinking with a friend yesterday, it reminded me that we often miss it here 'in the west'. We've been taught that it is good - no, great - to know what the teacher knows. But in the east, it's great to be like the teacher. I've had success at learning what most bible teachers know, but I've had only limited success in being like Jesus - the great Teacher.

I hang out with a group of Christian men who can see through the intellectual side of it all. Knowing a few more bible verses than they do (not that I do, personally) really does not impress them. Carrying a worn-out bible does not impress them, either. I've found that leaving your bible in the trunk of your car over time creates a nice, well-worn effect. In fact... they are God-seekers, and they are used to seeing God work. As a result, they simply aren't that impressed with 'anything' I do. Who would be, after seeing God work?

But these guys totally dig seeing God work in me. They know me... and they know God... they can darn-sure tell the difference. Having said all that, I encourage everyone to seek the Lord in new and greater ways this year. If you haven't gone to a place of service or worship where you are out of your comfort zone, do it. For those who are plugged in to Him, facades aren't worth much. None of us think anyone really has it all together. The more we know, the more we realize it's all Him or bust. There is nothing with the stamp of this world on it that is worth having.