What Christ and unbelievers have in common

The disdain that many unbelievers have for "Christianity" is sometimes 100% justified.

How?

Their disdain is usually toward the pretense and hypocrisy among those who claim to believe in God. 

Yet Christ himself also disdained and even condemned this attitude and behavior. 

Pretense and hypocrisy are far too common among churchgoers. But why?

Because of a performance or works-based approach to "Christianity" - i.e. legalism - which is not true Christianity at all, but only gives the appearance of being Christian. In reality, it is the opposite of and opposed to the gospel of grace, the essence of Christ's message. 

Unlike a heart "ruled" by grace, performance-based "Christianity" is based on self-salvation which leads to pretense, pride, and hypocrisy. It rejects the necessity of the work of Christ to restore us to the Father - not rejection with their words necessarily (many say the "right things") but in their heart - and believes we can save ourselves without God and His Son, i.e. we don't need the righteousness of Christ assigned to us because of our unrighteousness. To believe this is to also believe our deeds are somehow better than Christ's. 

This is an insult to Christ and all He did to restore us to a right standing with His Father. In effect, we are saying Christ's work is useless, worthless, and unnecessary and ours is superior. 

This approach was also the very same issue Christ had with the self-righteous religious leaders of His day.  

How does this self-righteousness develop?

Many, who live in the Christian community and profess to be Christians, are aware of the high ¹moral standards Christ calls us to e.g. love your enemies, love God with all you are and have, always treat others as you wish to be treated, be grateful for all things at all times, especially the hard stuff etc. 

But they do not know (possess) the power necessary to live these out - i.e. a heart moved by love, not by ²mere will power. 

So on the outside and before others, they pretend to live by those standards because they know this is what is expected of a "good Christian." But behind closed doors, and out of the public eye, their true self is ³revealed. 

This is especially true for those closest to them, particularly their children, and why kids from a "Christian" home often rebel and walk away from this religiosity. 

The criticism often leveled at these so-called "Christians" is they expect others to do as they say but not as they do.

But outward "obedience" only, is not true obedience. True faithfulness springs forth from the heart of someone who knows they are truly unrighteous yet infinitely and perfectly loved at the same time. As a result, their righteousness (right conduct) is a response of loving faithfulness to God in return, not an attempt to earn God's acceptance.

As Christ said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments..."  It doesn't say keep my commands to win my love or impress me and others with your good deeds. 

This was the problem of the Pharisees during the time of Christ. They were all about appearance and pretense to gain the praise of men. They were not about substance - i.e. true faithfulness out of a heart moved by love for God. 

Ironically, those unbelievers who disdain hypocrisy are far more aligned with Christ in this one significant area than many who profess to be Christians.

For a fuller discussion about hypocrisy click here

Why does Christ consider the poor in spirit blessed? Click here.

For a discussion on self-righteousness click here

Should we pursue Jesus or morality? click here

Why religion comes up short click here

Why Christ came with grace not just truth click here

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Footnotes:

¹Also common among those who are legalistic is an overbearing and condescending emphasis on "right doctrine." These self-proclaimed "defenders of truth" can sometimes recite the various teachings in the Bible impeccably, sometimes better than some true lovers of Jesus, but it is from their heads, not their hearts. There is no grace or humility in their criticism of others. It is the fruit of arrogance, not of a humble heart that seeks to honor God by being faithful to His words.  

Those who are like this tend to always be on a spiritual witch hunt to expose those who do not cross their doctrinal "t's" and dot their theological "i's" perfectly according to them. 

However, correctly comprehending things is not the same as believing them. We can understand and even explain things perfectly but that doesn't mean we believe them. And faith in the work of Christ for us - i.e. the gospel - is central to being a true follower of Christ, not perfect doctrine.

²Our wills are certainly involved but not to "obedience" - i.e. outward conformity to prescribed behavior - but to faith. We must either believe the gospel of grace and God's infinite love that comes to us by it, or we do not believe it. This is the true and legitimate exercise of our will and the choice we are called to make. 

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”- John 6:28-29

³And no one sees this better than our own kids or family. "Do as I say and not as I do" is a common attitude by parents when their kids or extended family push back on the inconsistency between their private life and their public life. This is common among those who are superficial in their Christianity and may be an indication that they are not a true follower of Christ at all. 

For any kids that had such parents growing up, don't miss the true message of Jesus and the good news he offers of crediting his good deeds to us as if we did them and the removal of the condemnation for our rebellion to Him. 

Pain - normal or common?

Because ¹pain is such a ¹constant part of our lives (from the first time we left our ²mother's womb and cried) it feels normal i.e. it has been a common part of our life from the first moment we came into this world.

On one level we have become so acclimated to pain we even buy into the notion that death is a normal part of life e.g. it's simply part of the "circle of life" as portrayed in the popular animated movie "The Lion King." Ironically this is actually a denial of death i.e. an attempt to make it less than it really is. In reality, death is a travesty we weren't originally designed for.

Suffering as well is ²not normal, it's simply common - and commonly shared. ³Everyone is in pain to various degrees, from the least privileged to the most. This is comforting in an odd way because we know we are not alone in our suffering. As the saying goes, misery loves company. But it also allows us to brush it aside as a normal part of life, when it's not. We tell ourselves to stop whining and having a pity party (or questioning struggles) because everyone goes through pain.

Even those who experience the best circumstances - and least trauma in life - are in pain at some level. The difference is some are able to arrange their world/circumstances well enough to dull the pain better than others. And those that do should be the happiest among us, but usually are not - outside those who know God and His infinite love.

The truth is those blessed enough to be sorounded with enough gifts ("toys" - creature comforts) to distract themselves from ⁴internal pain, is not that common. It is the exception, not the rule. Few of us are wealthy enough or gifted with enough natural talents to arrange our circumstances so we can completely avoid pain. Plus those that have the most creature comforts are privately still in ⁴pain. The high rate of substance abuse, other addictions and even suicide among the wealthiest and mosted gifted are all indications. No matter how good or challenging our circumstances ⁵no one is pain free.

The good news is Christ understands pain better than any of us and embraced our pain so that we might not have to.

For a further discussion of why God allows evil to continue click here.

For a further discussion of how God uses pain for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/grace click here.

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¹If our mom's environment or even her emotional state was sufficiently troubled before we were born we no doubt picked up and experienced some of her pain and it transfered to us.

²We were not designed for pain but for infinite love and joy because we were created like God who is infinite love and joy. To participate in who He is we must be like him. Our problem is we reject him and therefore are absent what we were created for and need most, causing us on-going pain. Those of us who accept God's offer to be restored to him will one day be completely free of pain. That offer is extended to any who will receive it.

³I'm referring primarily to emotional pain -  though we all experience various physical ailments, discomforts, disease and eventually death - the ultimate physical pain.

⁴What is the essence of this emotional pain? It is feeling worthless, unimportant, insignificant etc. We were created for glory, not insignificance.

There is much talk about trauma in modern psychology but little talk of our critically compromised spiritual condition that allows trauma to take root and effect us in the first place. 

Trauma is not just from painful events we experience but the overall state we are in e.g. we are all inclined to go about life with little to no thought about God. As a result we are not in the close relationship with Him we were created for i.e. we are alienated from Him. To be alienated from the Source of life and love - i.e. our Creator - is to be in a traumatized and vulnerable state. 

When we are connected to the Source of life - as we were meant to be - painful events (invasive violations of our being and sense of worth) do not traumatize us. To use an analogy, a pathogen cannot take hold in us when our immune system is strong. What makes up a strong spiritual immune system? When we have a strong sense of value, meaning, purpose etc. because of our union with the Infinite Source of love and value. The stronger our union, the stronger our spiritual immune system and the less trauma (pathogens) take root and effect us. 

⁵Yet we still attempt to derive comfort (reduce pain) in having it better than others.

Being devalued

When you are wronged you are being devalued i.e. you're being treated as unimportant - insignificant, worthless; as if you don't matter.

Why is this wrong? Because you do matter; you have value and significance.

Why are ¹we valuable and significant? 

Because God is the most valuable and most significant of all, and He made us like himself - in His image. Therefore, we have intrinsic value. 

Our intrinsic value is not based on something you or I do but who we are, who God created us to be i.e. like Himself - in His image.

Why did God make us this way?

So we can participate in who He is - as the most significant and valuable being of all - in order to partake of and enjoy the eternal bliss (happiness) within the community of Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit.

And when we do, we reflect His value and significance back to Him and out to others like nothing else in creation i.e. only we are created in His image. The only other being described in this way is the Son of God. 

To treat someone (who is like God) with honor and dignity - which is rightfully theirs as God's image-bearer - honors God and them for who they truly are, i.e. as significant and valuable. God being the most high, most valuable and significant of all, and humanity being like him. 

Our most basic value has to do with who we are, who we were created to be by the infinitely valuable/supreme God, not in what we do. We can only do, because of who we are 1st. 

And we can do as we were designed to only if and when empowered by God's Love-Spirit. 

Our value may be expressed and displayed by what we do but is not the grounds of it. God and who he made us to be, is the basis of our value.

When we see this we understand why loving God with all we are and have and our neighbor as ourselves is the 1st and 2nd greatest commandment and why the 2nd follows the 1st.

Everything about who we are and what we do must start with God, and return back to Him - for from him, through him, and to him are all things. To him be all glory (honor) forever! Amen!

In summary, there are 4 reasons we are valuable and significant!

1. God is a being of infinite value and significance; we are like Him. This is who we are and has nothing to do with our actions i.e. what we ¹do.

2. Because we are like God we can partake of and enjoy His value and significance in a way no other being - other than himself - can. 

3. And we can bring glory (honor) and joy to God by enjoying, trusting, and living as He designed i.e. in union and faithful pursuit and enjoyment of Him and His directions...

4. Thereby reflecting God's value and significance to others i.e. loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. 

Because this is true of all men and women before they come to Christ - i.e. this is how God "hard wired" us - they can reflect Him in a significant way once they are restored to a right relationship with Him and indwelt and empowered by his Love/Spirit.

They can bear good fruit thereby reflecting and honoring God - their infinitely valuable Creator - like nothing else in Creation can, since nothing else is created like God; in His image. 

We alone are like God - in his image. To not be treated accordingly is a huge violation/ offense against us - who we are - and against our Creator who made us this way.

For further discussions on our value click 

Created for glory 

Worthless, rotten sinners? 

Does God value us? 

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¹though it does explain how and why we live for His honor and glory.

Our value is the foundation for offenses

Because we are significant and valuable - as bearers of God's image - when we are treated otherwise, something is taken from us. What is it that is taken? You can call it a sense of dignity, worth, respect, etc. 

Instinctively we all know this is wrong, especially when we are on the "receiving" end. 

We also know someone should restore the one who has been mistreated, i.e. someone should pay for the loss. 

So what are the options?

*We (the offended) can pay for it - i.e. forgive the offender - which means we incur the loss. 

*The offender can pay for it - i.e. restore what they took or damaged ... or

*Someone else can step in - a substitute - and cover the loss they caused. 

The foundation for right and wrong.

Because God created and sustains us, all we are and have comes from him. Therefore, we owe it to him to live in a way that acknowledges this i.e. honors him for who He is and what he gives...yet few rarely do. And only one (Christ) did this perfectly.

And because we don't we not only dishonor him but we cut ourselves off from the life and love we were designed to receive i.e. His life. Not because God rejects us, but we reject him.

Without his life in us and love flowing through us, we can never be all He designed us to be. Because we do not recognize him as our Creator, Sustainer, and Provider or seek to live for his honor - but our own instead - we are no longer ¹spiritually alive i.e. alive to God. We have disconnected from the Source of life, love, and all things and cut ourselves off. We are like a flashlight with the batteries removed or a sailboat where the wind has died. We still have the capacity to be all God created us to be - we have simply unplugged from the source of life that empowers us to do so.

So what are we to do? How can we live as we were created to? We can't. Without his love and life filling us - giving us a sense of meaning, purpose, and value - we can't live the way we were designed to. Only his love - the wind in our sails - can move us to live for him.

To be restored, someone else had to live that life for us - option 3 above - then offer to credit us with what they did. 

We also needed someone to pay our debt - restore what we damaged - for not treating others as they rightfully deserve - both God and our fellow image-bearers - i.e. treat them according to their true worth and dignity. Option 3 is the only way we can be restored back to God. We simply will not and cannot restore ourselves. The damage and harm we do and the debt we incur is greater than our ability to fix or repay it.

And option 3 could only be carried out by somebody who lived for God's honor and glory ²perfectly because we can not without the love and life - power/wind - of God stirring in us the desire to live for Him. 

To say it another way, we can not live for God without the life and love of God moving us to do so. And the love of God is not available to us until we are restored to God. We are stuck. We need someone outside us to take care of our problem. 

Thank God, he made the way!! He sent ²Christ to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. The only thing that remains for us to do is to believe He did everything necessary to restore us. It is up to us to accept his offer. Will you accept it?

For a further discussion on how the most valuable values us click here. 

For further discussions on our value click 

• Created for glory 
• Worthless, rotten sinners? 
• Does God value us? 

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¹We no longer experience our true value and dignity as intended because we are cut off from the only true source of it i.e. Our Creator.

²And how did Christ live/obey perfectly? By trusting the Father's love, wisdom, and power perfectly. The very same love, wisdom, and power we too, as a child of God in Christ, have available to us through the Holy Spirit given by grace - i.e. because of what Christ did to restore us back to the Father.

 

 

condemnation removed - righteousness assigned

We have two subtle and deeply embedded needs. We need relief from guilt, shame, and a sense of failure. We also need to know we are valuable, significant, worthwhile. The former removes something bad from us, and the latter asserts or gains something good for us. 

Though these are separate needs, they are connected. The former (guilt/shame/failure) eats away and diminishes our sense of the latter (value/significant/worth). To fail at a task is to feel worthless; a loser as they say. *Guilt and a sense of worthlessness are directly tied together. 

When we speak of Christ's work for us, we usually focus on the former - God's removal of the just condemnation for our **rebellion. Our greater awareness of this need, more than the need for a sense of value, maybe due to our constant and deeply embedded feelings of guilt and shame. Being ***relieved of pain (shame) can feel more urgent than gaining something we strongly desire (importance) e.g. We are not going to be concerned about our appearance or achievements right after dropping a large rock on our toe. 

For this reason, the need for being valued and significant is not often thought about when we consider all that Christ offers us but is at least equal to, if not more important when it comes to our long-term faithfulness to God. 

Christ lived a life of perfect faithfulness (obedience) to His Father - never-failing and always succeeding - to the point of feeling abandoned by His Father and enduring the most shameful death. This perfect life of faithful obedience is now fully assigned-credited to us as if we lived His life of perfect faithfulness if we accept his offer. When we do we are viewed by God as perfect in our faithfulness - even though we are far from it. 

We are now equally admirable and loved by the Father as Jesus is. This isn't a feeling, it's an objective reality. It is how God sees us if we are in Christ. 

John 15:9 as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

How would we describe the Father's love for His Son? Whatever way we describe it, it is the same love the Son has for us. This kind of love is not possible unless we are perfect in God's eyes. A perfection lived out by Christ and fully assigned-credited to us. Just as Christ was treated as the rebels we are - wholly condemned - we are now seen as a perfect and complete success the same way Christ is - wholly accepted and approved of. 

For an extended discussion of our guilt and shame, click here and here.

For a further discussion on being hard-wired for greatness, click here. 

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*Depression is the result of a deep sense of failure and guilt, leading to a feeling of worthlessness. If this is left unaddressed, it can lead to suicide.

**i.e. Our rebellious distrust of God. Distrust leads to unfaithfulness in giving God his rightful and due recognition as the one and only all-glorious God worthy of all thanks.

***The most successful people in business I have known over the years said they were driven far more by fear of loss than a desire for gain. 

The necessity of hope

No one operates without hope. We all must have it. Without hope, we give up trying to accomplish things. Once we lose hope we quit.

What is hope? It is ¹anticipation or expectation -- sometimes absolute confidence -- of obtaining what we do not yet have, that we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning, importance, worth, significance, etc. The common emotion we experience when we obtain this is happiness. 

To say it another way, hope is driven by finding what we believe is missing that will make us most happy if and when we find it.

What is it about us that causes us to need and seek hope? Why is having hope so essential, so much so that we will end our life if we no longer have it? What is missing that creates a desire to always look for something to satisfy us; to fulfill our hope? ²Why do we hope at all?

Hope is so much a part of our makeup, even in suicide someone is operating out of hope.

Ironically, they hope to end the pain of no longer having hope. They have lost hope of finding any true or lasting meaning, purpose or significance. They feel totally helpless, useless, and worthless. The pain of their present existence is greater than their hope of finding relief from it. They are driven by a desperate hope that ending their present state might stop the screaming pain of no hope and give them peace. When we say, ³"rest in peace" (R.I.P) when someone leaves this "veil of tears" we are expressing this very thing. The hope that our life ending will finally stop the unsuccessful pursuit to relieve the pain of disappointment, fear, loss etc.

Hope for the unbeliever

Ultimately, hope for the unbeliever is the satisfaction of their thirst for meaning, purpose, and value occurring when they obtain wealth, fame, power influence, a life partner or  ____________  (fill in the blank), etc.  Outside of Christ and His infinite love, all our energy, and creativity, all our endeavors and enterprises are driven by this hope.

If our hope is a specific goal, such as "one day I will be or have the best this or that' -- 'get that perfect job' -- 'find the perfect partner' -- 'become a multimillionaire' -- 'win the Olympics' - or whatever we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning,, significance, purpose etc. - and when I do, I will finally find real happiness." 

Ironically reaching a major life goal can result in the opposite of what is hoped for - i.e. despair, not happiness. After great struggle and effort someone finally reachs what they hoped would give them some anticipated meaning or significance, only to find it ⁴does not give them the satisfaction and peace they'd hoped for. 

We sometimes hear of those reaching the pinnacle of their dreams and goals only to become totally disenchanted. Then trying to numb the pain of this new discovery through substance abuse, often winding up overdosing or taking their own life. 

Think of all the ⁵celebrities who have struggled with substance abuse after reaching wealth and fame. Their life ended as a result. 

These are people our culture admires and looks up to with the greatest regard/ admiration. After all, they have "made it" in life. 

Yet, they are miserable more often than not and sometimes more than ever. This is true far more than we like to acknowledge. To acknowledge this means we are hoping for the wrong things.

Existentialism. Man's solution to hope in a postmodern world.

The existentialist says there is no real objective purpose or meaning to our existence. Yet everything within us objects and screams out against this. We are compelled to have meaning and hope. We must have it! So much so that this world view says we must create it even when their belief system doesn't allow for it. 

So how does the existentialist handle this dilemma? They tell you to create a sense of meaning (subjectively) by doing things that make you feel meaningful and significant, i.e. create meaning by acting as if there is meaning even though their world view says it is a myth. Do something that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose even though the universe, including us, is truly pointless and a big cosmic accident that came about by chance. 

Existentialism demonstrates that hope is such a necessary part of our makeup, we must somehow create it even though it is totally incompatible with their world view.

So hope for the existentialist is creating a sense of meaning through my actions in an otherwise meaningless existence.  i.e. we must create meaning through our existing in a meaningful way, even though our existence is meaningless according to them. For the existentialist, there is no real absolute and objective truth or meaning; no objective, transcendent purpose. It is purely subjective. 

The expression "If it feels good, do it" - so prevalent today - is the "fruit" of this world view. Purpose, significance, or meaning is based solely on my experience not on any absolute objective reality that any of these are real since no such reality exists for the existentialist. 

Suicide is not uncommon among those who adopt this philosophy. For Camus (a highly regarded existentialist) - since there is no real objective meaning in the universe - "Should I kill myself?" was the essential and nagging philosophical question.

The believers hope

The ultimate hope for the believer is full satisfaction of purpose, meaning, and significance when we are face to face with Christ, the Creator - our relentless, boundless lover. It is a belief in this promise that fuels the believer's hope and actions.

This raises and addresses the question and dilemma of what is the legitimate motive for acting. Is it because, as believers, we ⁶already experience partial fulfillment in anticipation of complete fulfillment or because we are in search of something in order to be fulfilled as nonbelievers? 

The former results in acting out the hope of fullness, the latter out of emptiness. We are driven either by a desire to honor God because we already have absolute and perfect meaning through the promise/hope of eternal meaning/bliss in and with Him or the hope for some kind of meaning now through our efforts.

(ESV)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(KJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(NASB)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(AMP)  NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

(ERV)  Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.

(GNB)  To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

For a discussion on how this life is full of trouble click here. 

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¹There appears to be different kinds or levels of hope. "I hope so" would probably be the weakest and most common meaning we give that word. It's more wishful thinking than a rock-solid certainty. This is commonly what is meant when hope is used in casual conversation. 

Anticipation and expectation are a little stronger. This would be what a kid feels leading up to Christmas. Though they don't have their gifts yet, they are sure they will because they have always received them in the past and believe they will again because of past treatment. 

This video (click here) is revealing -- and possibly a humorous or cruel example of how significant hope is when kids get something other then what they hoped for at Christmas or their birthdays. This is not something we have to teach kids. Hope is an inherent part of our makeup. 

The strongest form of hope is absolute certainty. This is usually how hope is used in the bible. What you hope for is so certain it's as if you already have it when you do not yet i.e. the only piece missing is you don't yet have what you hope for but are 100% sure you will. The reason for the certainty is it is based on the unchangeable nature of the one making the promise i.e. God Himself and the actions He has already taken -- by sending Jesus -- as rock-solid proof He already loves us and will fufill what he promised. God has already acted in a way that assures us he will come through on what we are told is yet to come. 

Men make promises but they are not all-powerful and may not be able to keep them. God, however, is absolutely able and therefore always true to His word/promise. He not only has the intent (love) to do what He promises, but the ability (power) to accomplish it and also knows exactly (wisdom) what is needed. 

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²For a discussion of what it is we are all after click here.

³It is ironic that there is a universal sense -- though not always a conscious one -- that no one is permanently at peace in this life. Hence the wish for someone to rest in peace (R.I.P.) after dying. This is a back handed way of acknowledging life is a struggle and often full of turmoil. It is worth pointing out this expression began when the notion that someone who was a follower of Christ was headed for heaven - a place of perfect rest and peace - was much more commonly held. We still use the expression even though certainty of a blissful afterlife is far less common. The idea is we feel we must leave this life to be free from our restlessness -- or at least hope we will be. Complete uninterrupted peace in this life is elusive at best. Therefore we hope for it after this life.

⁴Or the thrill quickly fades so we redouble our efforts to achieve it again, or try something else in an attempt to find a better thrill and temporary rush of happiness -- or relief of pain. The fact that we go after it, again and again, indicates we never actually find it -- at least not in a lasting way -- yet hope we still can.  

⁵It's not that celebrities have more struggles. We all struggle. But it's because, more than the average person, they obtain what we all hope for and experience it first hand -- unlike most of us -- and then - to their dismay - find it doesn't deliver on its promises. To say it concisely, what they had hoped for they achieved but it still didn't work. 

⁶Though we will not experience complete fulfillment in this life, it is the anticipation of it, that gives us hope and joy. 

Competition… Good or bad?

Is competition helpful or unhelpful? It can be either or both.

Unhelpful competition is rooted completely in performance for the sake of praise and approval of others. In this scenario, my sense of value is tied directly to doing better than the next person. If I do, I feel worth something and if not; I don't. In a word, if I don't win/produce/perform, I am a "loser." I am useless and worthless. My sense of value rises and falls on others' opinions about my performance.

Competition is so much a part of America's psyche and value system (even more so with older generations who didn't get "participation" trophies) that we often are not even aware of it. Just think of how ¹many folks are glued to their TV on the weekends watching a sports event or game of one kind or another. Maybe more than most, Americans love to win and we love a "winner."

Yet, basing our value on beating the competition is the exact opposite of the Gospel. Our true significance or value is based 1st on who we are as image bearers of God and not what we do. Our good standing and approval by God are based on Christ's efforts and performance, not ours. God's acceptance of us has nothing to do with our performance. In fact, our performance, in this instance, is an affront to the work of Christ. It says His efforts were insufficient for God to receive us, so we must "help him out."

And who are we? We are in God's image and if we are in Christ; we are the beloved children of the all-loving, all-powerful, always present, all-wise, and all-glorious Creator, the most valuable person in the universe.

If we are infinitely valued by the infinitely valuable, what does that say about our value? And if God, the infinitely valuable, cherishes us, how much does it matter what others say or think? That would be putting more weight on the opinion of someone who knows and cares nothing about you vs someone who has perfect knowledge about you and knows and cares about you perfectly. If our happiness rises and falls on the approval and praise of others, we should reassess our understanding of God's infinite love for us, i.e. we may not fully "get it" yet.

When is competition helpful?

Should we live productively with excellence? Yes, because God is most valuable -- most high/excellent and most deserving of our best e.g. all heart, soul, mind, and strength. How we conduct ourselves either honors or dishonors God. By living excellently out of a desire to honor him -- because he first honored/loved us -- we put on display God's great worth/honor. We do not compete to gain the praise, love, and approval of others by being "better" than someone else, but because we already are important, valued, loved, and approved by God, stirring in us the desire to honor him in all we say and do.

Competition can be helpful by bringing the best out of us. It pushes us to be the best we can be. It can raise our level of belief/confidence in what image-bearers are capable of. How much more so, those who are driven by the love and praise of God vs the love and praise of men.

We should welcome competition with others who are better than us. If we are secure in the love of Christ, we will.

When someone excels, it demonstrates a higher level of excellence that ²can be achieved in a given activity.  It raises the bar and sets a higher standard, inspiring others and us to do better. It brings the best out of us and gives us an **example and a higher target to aim for.

When we approach competition in this way, it isn't devastating when we lose. -- If it is, this is a clue that our identity and sense of value are too tied to our beating the other person. We may be disappointed we didn't do better, but only because we know we can and didn't. 

How is this different from typical competition? It is not a matter of being better than someone else but of being inspired to be the best "me" we can be.

When competition challenges us to become better, this is good and helpful. We should welcome and even seek this. Seeking to be the best we can be stretches us to use our gifts/skills to their greatest capacity, i.e. becoming the best stewards of what we are entrusted with -- honoring the giver of those skills.

In Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell had it right when he said: "...to win is to honor Him..."

For more on living with excellence, click here. 

For more on the necessity of great effort, click here. 
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¹Why is watching sports so popular? Not only because we like proving our value by beating the other guy or gal, but we draw our sense of identity from our team being better than the other team. If we don't have the time or are not good enough to play ourselves, we do the next best thing, we cheer for "our team" and feel important when our team wins and feel like a "loser" when they don't. Some folk's identity is so tied up in a sports team that they even get depressed or angry when their team doesn't win. Someone I knew well would go into a deep depression every time their team lost.

²You may have read or recall for years, several attempted to break a sub-4-minute mile. Eventually, Roger Bannister did it. Within weeks, many followed suit, even though attempts to break it before that had been a goal for years. Why? He raised the bar and showed it could be done, helping others to believe they might be able to do it also, inspiring all runners to achieve greater speeds. 

Driven by shame

Those who try to shame others into behaving the way they desire (i.e. to control them with shame) are themselves usually influenced or driven by shame (i.e. guilt feelings). We do who we are.

Why do most of us operate out of shame? 

The further away from God's ¹design we operate, the greater our guilt (real guilt vs guilt feelings). The greater our guilt feelings - i.e. sense of shame - the more it drives us and becomes our modus operandi -- the way we operate i.e. our actions are driven by guilt and shame instead of love as we were designed to operate.

Instead of seeking God to help us change the behavior that results in our shame, we often seek to get others to approve our behavior to find relief. We may not like the consequences of conduct that violates our design, but we like having no restrictions on our choices even less.

Because we are designed to ²give and receive love but cannot do so -- unless "plugged in" to the Source of love -- we never operate as we were designed, but are always operating with guilt and shame -- though we typically are not fully conscious of it unless some event triggers and surfaces it.

The more we operate out of shame the lower our sense of value/worth i.e. The more worthless we feel. This process often leads to depression and can ultimately lead to suicide if not addressed.

This is why we are constantly trying to do things to make us feel better about ourselves; to feel more important/ significant. We are in a constant state of pain and shame and always looking to relieve it.

As a result, we try to avoid things that make us feel worthless and cause shame -- like admitting we failed to accomplish a desired goal or are wrong when we mistreat others.

The only way to break free from this cycle of bondage, guilt, and shame is the grace of God -- the good news/gospel -- found in Jesus Christ alone.

For a further discussion of why we avoid the cause of guilt and shame click here.

For a further discussion of the cause and removal of guilt and shame click here.

For a discussion on the futility of engaging in guilt and shame click here and here.

For a discussion on our being designed for greatness/glory click here and here. 

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¹we are like God, designed for love. God is love, giving and receiving it back again. We need love (God); to receive it (Him) and reflect it to others and back to Him. We are most complete when we operate in this way - as we are designed to.

² "Positively" by outdoing/outperforming others. 

Negatively, by criticizing others to feel better about ourselves.

As God's rebellious image bearers, we run on empty (due to our rebellion) because we are disconnected from the Source of love. As a result, we attempt to get and take love instead of give and receive it as we were designed. At some level, we know this. For a further discussion on this point click here. 

I am putting "positively" in quotes because even though outdoing/outperforming others is considered constructive behavior, it is still behavior in an attempt to bolster our own sense of worth outside of God. This kind of behavior may be positive in the eyes of others but is contrary to who God designed us to be.

The significance of being dependent/finite

It is obvious we are dependent beings. We see this demonstrated on a daily basis. We must have food, air, water and shelter to remain alive. If any one of these are not available we will perish physically.

We are also dependent beings spiritually and emotionally. This is evidenced by our constant need and ongoing attempt to find a sense of value, purpose and meaning. 

Why is this significant?

*This shows we must have/need meaning otherwise why the constant seeking of it.

*It also shows our attempts at acquiring it on our own, independent of God, are inadequate.

Our constant focus on self instead of God is the result and indication of our rebellion to this dependence/design.

God is the source of love, life and all things, we are not. We are designed to be consciously and deliberately connected with him and nothing else as our source for true, lasting meaning.

And if he is, to think we can find life outside and apart from him is harmful in the greatest possible way. It is like being on a road you hope and believe leads to the best possible destination when its doing exactly the opposite. It is the ultimate deception that leads to our greatest harm.

When we rebel from our design of finding true life in, through and from our Creator, we are in a *deep and constant state of pain/feeling worthless, without lasting meaning and purpose. We unsuccessfully seek to fill this void without God, when only God alone can fill it.

The good news is in His kindness, God made a way to restore and reconnect us, if we will receive his offer i.e. stop our rebellion (distrust) and start trusting him.

If we refuse his offer to reconnect-unite and find true life in him we remain in our state of pain-feeling worthless without lasting meaning and purpose. This leads ultimately to our greatest harm, not to mention dishonoring to God.
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*we are often not fully aware of our painful longing for meaning-purpose-value until we are pressed beyond our natural ability to cope i.e. when using whatever it is we use and depend on to find meaning, independent of God - our true source - is no longer possible.

For a further discussion click here.

avoiding guilt and shame

Why do we avoid experiencing guilt and shame (i.e. resist acknowledging our shortcomings), often with great energy and determination? Because guilt and shame is crippling i.e. It makes us feel worthless. 

This goes against everything in us. We are not designed to feel worthless but cherished and loved. To say it another way, we are hard wired to experience greatness/glory (For more discussion in this see the links below).

It doesn't take much 

Guilt and shame is right below the surface of our feelings and easily exposed/surfaced with the slightest provocation. We are walking guilt and shame time bombs with a hairpin trigger. We see evidence of this with some of the items listed below. 

How do we avoid (or respond to) feelings of guilt and shame? Our options:

·      Lash out at those who cause these (play the victim...common today)

·       Avoid those who cause these (find a "safe space" which can be lonely since none of us are perfect i.e. there are no truly safe spaces since we must engage people all the time).

·      Ignore or pretend our shame doesn't really exist i.e. It's all in our head.

·      Recognize and experience the removal of actual guilt and shame (not just the feelings) through the sacrificial death of Christ on our behalf (the only permanent and real solution).

For a further discussion of the cause and removal of guilt and shame click here.

For a discussion on the futility of indulging in guilt and shame click here and here.

For a discussion on our being designed for greatness/glory click here and here.