Using God to Run from God
In his great book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Pete Scazzero describes ten symptoms that our spiritual life has become disconnected from who we really are, leading us (often unaware) to a dangerous place. The first symptom he lists is using God to run from God. This is when we create a great deal of “Christian” activity in our lives, often to (intentionally or unknowingly) avoid what God wants to do in our hearts. He lists a number of examples that serve as a good basis for examining the current state of affairs in our own heart:
- When I do God’s work to satisfy me, not him.
- When I do things in his name he never asked me to do.
- When my prayers are really about God doing my will, not my surrendering to his.
- When I demonstrate “Christian behaviors” so people think well of me.
- When I use his truth to devalue and judge others.
- When I exaggerate my accomplishments for God to subtly compete with others.
- When I hide behind God talk, deflecting any spotlight on my inner cracks and becoming defensive about my failures.
So as we start this week making final preparations to celebrate the God who comes to us, even in the midst of our running and rebelion, as a baby in Bethlehem - take some time to reflect: Which of these rings true in your life? How are you running from God right now? What areas do you need to repent in?
No Comments so far
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>