It sounds absurd at first when you think about the title, running away by serving God, and it is under normal circumstances. Usually Christians try to show their faith through service, no matter how big or small, and normally they get some spiritual growth out of it too. However, just like eating dessert for every meal, there is a limit on what you can do as a follower of Christ without endangering your spiritual health. By doing too much, we can limit ourselves spiritually through the sheer volume of obligations and our own fatigue.
Before we dive too much into detail I should clarify that I believe James 2:14-26 to be accurate and that one should have both faith and works for a strong relationship with God. That being said, the scripture states that without one, the other is not enough to live a Christian life. James 2:14-26 states:
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
As you can see your relationship with God has a balance to it, kind of like a set of scales, or platform on top of a single pole (think Indiana Jones styled booby trap). If you put too much weight onto one side then the device becomes off balanced and everything falls. This works the same way with your faith and service. If you put too much time into doing works for God, you leave very little, if any, time for scripture and faith.
Right now at Wesley, we are very busy, in fact we are so busy that this semester there are only 3 weekends where something isn’t going on (and two have passed already). Adding on school work, relationships, and other organizations, leaves us very little time for a break, let alone spend large amounts of quality time with God. I know saying this makes this post feel like I’m targeting someone in particular so I’d like to explain a bit. When I was way younger (think just able to drive, scary thought) my youth minister at the time had a sermon on how the church as a whole tends to ignore Matthew 7:3 ( “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?). Instead, it likes to pretend the congregation is perfect and that they’re above others because they go to church and do the “right” thing. I have taken that sermon to heart and have expanded the idea to include Matthew 7:4-5 as well. So again to clarify, this is not an attack on anyone but instead a way to send a message while identifying one of the many planks in my eye.
Personally I love doing good deeds for others, and if one needs me I’m always a phone call or text away. However, I tend to have a very bad habit of overexerting myself to the point in which if I were in the Hunger Games I would have volunteered as tribute before Prim’s name was even drawn. Now this isn’t always a bad thing and I’ve truly had some remarkable experiences, but looking back I have taken some serious steps back in my faith journey. My choir director back home used to tell us it wasn’t about what we’ve done churchwise, it was about how much we’ve grown spiritually. And in the past year and a half at Wesley, I’ve done so much that if I listed it all out this post would be twice as long as it will be. That being said, my faith has probably regresses a bit. (To be honest this post would probably be the first step forward I’ve made in a long time) Before I used to pray, not so much out loud but at least privately, I attempted to read the bible on a regular schedule, and I spent time reflecting on my faith. Today however, I hardly pray at all, my bible has a layer of dust on it, and there is hardly time at all to even consider the first two items of this list, let alone my faith. I have actually begun to run away from God, and what he was trying to tell me, by ironically doing deeds, services, and acting as a Christian should (mostly on that last one). This is not good, for me, for those who look to me as Christian, and for my relationship with God.
Jeremiah 29:13 states “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Therefore, one who is too busy to find God, or simply too exhausted, cannot find him, even if they are too busy doing services for the Lord himself. You see there is a balance that must be struck and rest is indeed encouraged (I believe it’s called a Sabbath), but not so that one can simply rest and slack off. There’s more to it, it was made for man to allow an opportunity to spend some time reflecting, praying, and building a relationship with God.
I now leave you with this challenge, a challenge I myself have recently taken. Examine all that you do, and then examine how much you’ve grown spiritually in the past year. See if you have a balance or if something is missing. If something is missing, then figure out a way to fill the void. If you have the balance you desire then excellent, but either way find ways to improve your spiritual growth and actually do them. Find someone or something to keep you accountable and in another year start over, because as humans we can never be perfect, but we can try to get as close as possible. Finally I want you to never stop running for God, but never run away.
-Wes
