Desiring God

I have observed a phenomenon in the behavior of some people who know nothing about God or the teachings of Jesus Christ but tend to live to a much higher moral standard than the vast majority of professing Christians, especially the type who go to church and espouse their belief in Salvation. This trend I've found is present in many hard working people, mostly among entrepreneur types highly successful families of various ethnic backgrounds. They usually value higher education, ownership of property and are well connected in the business community. I'm certainly not saying that 'all such people are moral and upstanding citizens but those I have personally observed fit the description above. The question in my mind concerning these people is not how their 'good works play into some hope they have about future rewards in the after life, but HOW can we get them to see the error of their ways and begin 'DESIRING God instead of wealth and success.

With them we're starting from 'Scratch, quoting Scripture about Repentance, faith and Redemption is not going to impress them in the least. For one they have 'nothing to Repent of, in their minds WHAT could be wrong or 'sinful about working hard, making a lot of money and saving for the future? They are dedicated to home and family and apart from the usual disagreements and bad dispositions at times, they're doing nothing so wicked or awful that you call it 'sin they need to repent of. You could certainly 'show them how they have violated God's Law, have lied at times, perhaps coveted things, even entertained thoughts of lust or violence, but how is that going to motivate them to SEEK God on a level Deep enough to answer the eternal question within their souls 'What is Truth' ?

It Requires a diligent EFFORT on man's part to find God on a genuine and personal level:

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, (Deut4:29, Jer29:13-14)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Heb11:1, 6

The major stumbling blocks in their path is 'of course their own lack of desire to seek God AND also the collective conscienceless of religiosity (the establishment Church, Christian System) that defines God under thousands of doctrines, creeds and traditions all distorting His true Character and intention for mankind. It's better for them that they had NO experience with the Church System or perhaps just 'used it to make business connections in their community. Indoctrination would be their worst enemy especially in their present state of 'assured delusion. Equating their worldly success with some kind of mystic 'approval from God would seal their doom. But addressing the chief reason they are in a state of complacency toward God, is their own 'unwillingness to take Him seriously enough to spend some of their 'valuable time seeking Him out.  This type of person is only going to diligently seek after something they perceive will benefit them in some manner. Since God will not intervene into an individuals personal choices its highly unlikely they will ever Know Him on any more than a  'Shallow level of existence as perhaps a 'reason for doing good instead of bad. Again the Scripture does say that there is a 'Way that Seems Right to man, but the end thereof is the Way of destruction', in other words there is a WAY that appears to you as well pleasing and profitable and will have a favorable outcome if you follow it, but its NOT God's WAY that will lead you to an eternal life of blessings in His Kingdom.

Yet even this has to be 'believed before it can have any impact on your mind as to what the outcome will be. Faith is not only the substance of things hoped for but is also the EVIDENCE of things 'unseen. If you can only believe what you See with your eyes how can you be compelled to Seek something that is yet to be evident to your senses? Christ said of following Him that the Way is Narrow, difficult to enter and that a person desiring to enter must STRIVE (put forth a strenuous effort) with great endurance or fail in his quest and join the majority of others who choose the Wider path that is well traveled and much easier to take. The person living a clean moral life, successful in business with all the creature comfort at their disposal is obviously 'Self-satisfied with their present reality, be it semi-religious or entirely secular. They will see this 'Narrow Path with all its difficulties as highly burdensome and not worth the effort and even possibly 'costly to follow since it requires an entirely opposite focus than the one they presently have. This is why the 'Churches all offer an alterative Way for people to have the 'best of 'BOTH worlds, success and comfort here and eternal bliss with God afterward. No one wants to 'Deny Self and take on some kind of heavy burden of rules and regulations that will lead them no where in this life but to loneliness and despair. If there really is a 'Christian God then He has to be a God who pours out His blessings on those who 'believe in Him and wants them to enjoy all life has to offer. And of course this is exactly the IMAGE of God that sells to the general public and appeals to people like you.

Being involved in 'Church and Community can be very beneficial toward continued success in business. Charitable outreach has a positive influence and wins the favor of most people. Why do you think the rich and powerful take on the mantle of Philanthropy so often, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and helps them appear compassionate toward their fellow man. All conducive toward further success and future rewards. So whether something is done under the banner of Christianity or from a purely self directed point of view it counts in general society as 'good works' and makes people feel as though they are contributing something to the greater good. Again, this is the very reason the Christian Churches abound in 'works, love and service' to their communities and the global mission field in general. They don't believed a person is 'Saved by 'good works, but they do them nonetheless to sooth their guilty conscience and cover their blatant hypocrisy. All this is done with a certain 'goal in mind that has nothing to do with compelling people to 'desire God above their earthly treasures. In fact Christ Himself spoke to this very issue concerning the final Judgment of all things done in His Name: (let's phrase in a way you may understand)
Not everyone who calls Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does what I Command. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not proclaimed your gospel to the world, have we not done many mighty works in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity' Matt7:21-23

‘Iniquity in this sense is not only extreme wickedness done by criminals and reprobates, it also applies to those who have Chosen their own 'WAY over God's Way and have Not Loved God above all else, with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. You can be a 'nice person in general terms but your disregard for God is revealed in your lack of motivation to Know Him on any more than some external level of acknowledgement. Think about it, if people who are professing Christians, devoted to Church, quoting the Bible to everyone and doing all kinds of good works are obvious hypocrites in their 'sinful live styles, HOW can you be any better off then they are because you're not a drunkard, fornicator, liar etc? They claim to 'Know God and still live in decadence, you make no claim one way or the other but STILL won't Seek Him out with any due diligence as you do so many other useless things. Have you ever sit down for more than five minutes and actually READ the Words of Christ recorded in the Gospels, considering them, taking them to heart allowing your mind to contemplate what He meant when He said:

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. Matt7:24-27

See, the truth of the matter is you have no time for God and see no real advantage in your life even trying to understand what He wants from you. So whether or not you view all the professing Christian as a pack of hypocrites dong 'things you would never think of doing, is not the issue here. The responsibility is on your head alone, no one else and the question is WHAT will you do in the Face of Jesus Christ! Resort to the eternal conundrum of: 'What is truth' or DIG for yourself until you find that Truth and settle it in your mind once in for all WHO you will Serve; 'God or yourself' I can't tell you to 'read your Bible' because it would do you no good whatsoever without the proper motivation before hand to 'search it with a PURPOSE in mind. With all the religiosity surrounding the 'many translations out there today and God being defined by heaps of  so-called Bible Pundits through the 'teachings of men, you have to first make a the ultimate decision that you're going to FIND God through all this confusion and rhetoric regardless of the obstacles. And that of course requires a great deal of effort on your part. Effort you are presently 'not willing to put forth because it would interfere with your earthy pursuits and require a Paradigm shift of mind-set that would upset present life-style. Your loved ones especially would think you've gone insane and scold your lack of concentration on business and education. But such a thing would only happen IF you were to take any of this seriously enough to refocus your mind and take the first step. So far you've been plugged into the world through your Wi-Fi, filling your mind with senseless chatter and screeching music. Your main attractions are any number of the following: 'business, academia, sports idolatry, the entertainment industry, mass media and million other distractions all combined to mesmerize hypnotize and numb your mind into a state of illusion you ‘precise as reality. The only 'Down-time you have is when you crash from sheer exhaustion a few hours from your 24/7 day and even then you're probably 'dreaming up new ways to make more money and further your success.

 

Certainly its difficult to criticize hard work and dedication to success, after all what's wrong with taking care of your family and doing well in life, isn't that what God wants anyway, that we are good citizens and decent individuals? But Christ spoke to this VERY thing when He said: 'What shall it profit a man if he gains the Whole world and loses his own soul and WHAT will a person give in exchange for their own soul' Mk8:36-37

What is the MOST Important thing in your life, apart from making money? 'Your family, your Children, husband, wife, brothers, sisters, ect. NOTHING on earth can compare to the preciousness of family, most of us would sacrifice everything we have including our own lives to 'Save ONE of them from harm and Keep them safe. Can't you see that THIS is the question Jesus is asking you .... WHAT on earth is more important than your Eternal Soul and the horror of being 'eternally separated from everyone you love? So ask yourself again: 'What will you give in exchange for your soul', Temporal success here, the comfort of having a great deal of money, sacrificing all your time and effort to building bigger barns and securing your future. The Bible says that man could live a 'thousand years twice and STILL end his life in Vanity. Some of the most wealthy people on earth are among the MOST miserable in existence. I'm not saying living in poverty and squalor is what God demands from His followers, BUT He does demand their Full attention and complete devotion. It's extremely difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven, Lk18:25, but not impossible. It's a Matter of Priorities, when asked by a wealthy man 'What must I do to inherit eternal life', Jesus answered: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets Mat22:37-40

It all hangs on your LOVE for God over and above all else. If you Love Him you will SEEK Him out with all your heart, if you Love Him you will spend time searching His Word, Praying for enlightenment and sincerely emptying your heart of all your Double-minded ways. You will NOT devise ways in which you can feel comfortable 'dividing your loyalties between serving Him and your own self-interests. You will give Him your Complete devotion and do all things as 'unto Him, subject to His Judgment as it is revealed to you through His Spirit. Just as our worldly love for family and spouse is revealed in the THINGS we do for them, so our 'Love for God is expressed in our faithfulness in following the example of Christ in everything we do and say. AND if you Love someone its not difficult or burdensome to DO the things that please them and will maintain a lasting relationship. Does this mean you will lose all your worldly possessions, status in life and become an outcast of society? Perhaps, as it has in the past, if it all comes down to denying Christ or become an enemy of the state, then its time to 'Count the Cost or 'save your life in this world ... Just as HE said: 'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels Mk8:34-38

Bottom line, following Christ means 'losing your life in this world and finding a NEW life in Christ! If that means physically laying down your life, so be it, but in our present circumstances I would say that it means 'losing your selfish dispositions, laying aside your self-interest, radically CHANGING your mind-set and make searching out the riches of God your highest priority in life! Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him? Rom11:33-34

You must completely ignore the Professed Church (Christian) folks out there and how they 'interrupt God. While they're busy running around in their filthy rags, sinning daily in thought, word and deed and justifying themselves in some twisted System of doctrine, YOU concentrate on KNOWING God on a genuine and personal level that FEW in this world ever find and then endeavor with all your might to BRING those closest to you on the same Journey. You won't regret it although you may think its impossible now and the distractions are far too overwhelming, the time you invest in searching out God will PAY OFF in (eternal) returns you can barely imagine now. Make your Integrity (hard work, dedication to success and family) COUNT for something in eternity instead of fading away like a puff of smoke and disappearing. ‘Learn to be Still’, take pause from your busy life with all its distractions and ‘Listen to that small still voice speaking to your conscience and discover that you can 'reason together with God. He is not revealed to us in the glitter and great swelling words of men. In most cases He comes to us AFTER all the noise and confusion of life. And in the 'stillness of that 'hour you paused to listen THERE He is! Confirmed to your mind as the 'Substance and Evidence you were always looking for to begin with. Then you will see Him as the Pearl of Great Price of FAR Greater Value than anything this life has to offer! (is that worth your time?)

Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1Kg19:11-12

If you've made it this far into my text you may be considering giving these things some of your precious time. But its not going to be easy to disconnect from the world long enough for any of it to start sinking in unless you're 'willing to refocus your mind on the things of God instead of where your next dollar is going to come from. I don't say this to be sarcastic or mean, just to be real. As a decent hard working person your central motivation is on securing a financial future for your family, but its coming at a VERY high price! That's the part you fail to recognize right now because the Way you have chosen 'seems so right. You're able to have the finest things, purchase the best education for your children, give to loved ones in need. Others look up to you as an example of self-motivated success, you're present status in life is hard earned and deserving of praise. BUT couldn't you USE it all for God, utilize your resources to Promote His Kingdom instead of your own? It will all dissolve into dust anyway, one thing is True: 'We brought nothing into this world and it is Certain that we will take nothing out'. WHAT will be the final accounting of your life, it is appointed unto man to die once and after this the Judgment. HOW will you face a God you 'never knew, who you never thought was worth your time to know? Will you just 'take your chances' like so many others who passed into eternity hoping for the best or will you greet that day with confidence KNOWING that you have Served God with acceptably with reverence and godly fear and that He will welcome you into His Kingdom with open arms. He is a Merciful and loving God but He cannot be taken for granted, assumption will not 'Save your soul. He is able to be Known by those who love and follow Him. His WORD is a lamp to our feet and a Light to our Path, we hide it in our hearts so we might not Sin against Him! Those who Know Him can say:

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2Tim1:12

If you are so inclined at this point to reach beyond your finite existence, begin with reading Psalm 119 to get a taste into the MIND of God, move from there into the Words of Christ in Matthew chapters 5 - 7, finally make it a daily routine to spend some quality time Searching the Scriptures, speaking to God from your heart and praying for illumination. You cannot expect to experience any true 'Spiritual refreshment in Knowing God if you continually REFUSE to spend any time Seeking Him out. What would 'friendship be without a mutual relationship of respect and admiration between the parties? 'You are my friends if you DO as I Command' John15:14

(I recommend reading from the KJV and NKJV Versions and learning to use a Greek-English Lexicon)