The New Bereans

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  Matthew 6:1

There are fundamentally only two types of active Christians; Bible Notchers and Walkers.  By “Active Christians” I mean those who do more than just warm pews; those who read the Bible (not Your Best Life Now ), pray, and are involved in some type of ministry.

I’m not entirely  sure Bible Notchers is the best term, but for now it will suffice, it is something of an allusion to hunters who put a notch in their belt each time they kill something.  I’m talking about someone who does things for God, of which they are quite proud.  They will often keep careful track of how long they pray, how many times they’ve read the Bible, how many church services they attend, etc:  Then they find subtle ways to let others know what their up to.  When they receive the desired applause for their efforts they humbly say, “It’s not me, it’s Jesus”.  I have spent the majority of my Christian life in and out of this group.

The group I call “Walkers” are a breed altogether, fewer in number but greater in power.  These don’t spend their time boasting, or counting up their good works.  Do they do good things?  Yes!  But their motive for doing them is not to gather attention and praise, their motive is to glorify Christ, and demonstrate their motive through action.  Have they stopped counting their good deeds in order to look even more spiritual still?  No!  They have stopped counting because it does not matter to them.  Their relationship to Christ is not one of Boyscout to Troop Leader, doing good deeds in order to receive merit badges:  Their relationship to Christ is one of Saved to Savior, they have grasped something of the enormity of his suffering, sacrifice, and death, and this knowledge motivates them to lay down their lives in love.  For them taking up the cross and following Christ is not an obligation, it is their greatest pleasure and highest honor.  To them the pleasures of this world have become empty and unsatisfying.  They do not walk in holiness to avoid punishment, they take pleasure in it.  For them counting the number of times they’ve read their Bible is as ridiculous as counting the number of times they’ve kissed their spouse, or taken out the trash.  I would never go to a friend and tell them, “Yeah I’m a pretty good husband.  I kissed my wife twelve times yesterday, and said I love you fourteen times.”  If we don’t boast to others about our marriages this way, why would we tell others about these elements in our walk with God?  Maybe it’s because we’re not really doing it for him at all?

Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16