For Those Addicted to the Checklist

Santa Claus isn’t the only one who likes to keep a naughty and nice list.  Sometimes as a Christian, we compile all the different things that we think will make us a good Christian.  In our minds, we jot down pray, read the Bible, serve, give, etc.  

Although doing these things are good, minimizing Christianity into a to-do list is insulting to God and can cause pharisaical tendencies.  Our Christian acts should be motivated by love and not by trying to “fulfill the requirements.” After all, if you make a list of everything a “good Christian” does, it’s hard not to look down on all of those who aren’t following your guidelines to your exact specifications. See, your list might look something like this:

Fool-Proof To-Do List for Being a Great Christian

ü     Read the Bible in the morning

ü     Pray for an hour everyday

ü     Go to church every Sunday and Wednesday; attend special events too

ü     Share my faith once a day

ü     Give old clothes to Goodwill

ü     Eat everything on my plate

 When we decide that our personal habits are God’s design for the Christian life, we muddle God’s truth.  That’s why God tells us that love is the most important commandment.  If we are motivated by love for God and people, all the important aspects of Christianity will fall into place.  Matthew 22:37-40 [NIV] says, “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Loving God is a Christian’s sole pursuit. 

But I know that some of you are disappointed.  You’re organized, and list-making is how you live your life.  You don’t mean to limit your relationship with God, but without lists, you are hardly able to function.

Not to worry, you obsessively-structured souls.  God has provided you with a specific list that you can blissfully check off throughout your days.  He shared it in James 1:27 [NIV]:   “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this—to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

God’s To-Do List for Pure and Faultless Religion

ü     Look after orphans in their distress

ü     Look after widows in their distress

ü     Keep from being polluted by the world

Although checking things off a list can bring satisfaction, you still must examine yourself.  Are you doing these things because of your love for Him?  Are you trying to justify yourself through obedience instead of clinging to His grace?  Do you feel superior to Christians who are not following this list in the same manner that you do?  Psalm 66:10 says, “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.”  See, while you’re busy checking items off your list, God is checking your heart. 

You Are Not Who You Think You Are

Do you ever look in the mirror and are surprised by what you find?  The pool of oil on your face is not how you hoped to shine that day.  And hair that is sneaking out of your chin or nostril should have been trimmed weeks ago (if not obliterated by laser removal).  You worry about just how long you have flaunted your flawed face to your family, coworkers and even the guy at Krispy Kreme. 

Looking in the mirror is viewed as superficial, but a little self check-up can save face on those mortifying days.  Personal reflection is just as important for your soul—although admittedly, less convenient than picking up a mirror. 

Two Fatal Misperceptions

In our spiritual walk, we view ourselves as a certain kind of Christian.  Life goes by, bringing new situations and many changes in life dynamics, but we may still hold a picture of who we once were.  We don’t realize how much we have changed, and we still think we are showing that old picture to the world. 

1.  The Glory Days.  If you are the person who doesn’t update your weight on your driver’s license, then you are living in denial.  You remember your best days, and that’s how you want people to see you.  As a Christian, you might remember your passionate days that were committed to evangelism, loving the poor and sacrifice for the glory of God.  When life gets busy, you get lax in your pursuit of His kingdom, feeling like you always serve, and someone else should step up.  Eventually, you become an inactive Christian, but you still believe you are the zealous Christian of your former days.  Take a deep look at who you are today, and while you are at it, update your driver’s license.

2.  The Hall of Shame.  You know your disgraceful past, even if no one else does.  Those memories weigh heavy on you, and you live with it everyday.  With God’s grace, you have let go of your sin and become a new person in Him.  The problem is that you forget that you are brand new.  You trudge along everyday in woeful remorse and don’t take time to see your new self.  Look at the change in yourself and move on from the you of the past. 

After you evaluate who you truly are today, don’t be distraught by what you find.  Cling to the grace of the Lord and meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:17 [NIV]—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

God Keeps Secrets

God doesn’t tell us everything that’s going on in our lives, which is one of the most frustrating parts of being a Christian.  We want to share in His omniscience, which we feel is deserved since we have an “in” with God.  But God continually reminds us that we will never be on His level.  “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” [Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV].

Job knows this frustration.  Job didn’t understand God’s unseen plan when he lost all his wealth and children.  He was also covered in sores that were so excruciating that he scraped himself with a piece of broken pottery.  He said, “Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?” [Job 3:23 NIV]. 

God keeps secrets so we can risk putting our faith in Him.  For without faith, it is impossible to please God.  A hero cannot show his bravery without a conflict to overcome; in the same way, a Christian cannot show devotion without following God into the unknown.  We are comfortable saying we are followers of Christ, but once something especially treacherous confronts us, we want to be controllers of Christ—making life turn out in a way that makes sense to us. 

Choosing faith often means waiting on God to move, which we must do in prayer.  Oh, and don’t worry about Job.  God gave him twice as much as he had before.