Selfish Christianity

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Selfish Christianity


John 6:22-27

Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid that too many of us are more concerned about what He can give us than we are about getting to know who He is.
But this is nothing new—Jesus had this problem when He walked on earth. The crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between selfishly trying to use the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Some of the issues we bring to Him are so pressing and urgent in our minds that our desire for Him to take action in the way we want becomes greater than our willingness to submit to His will. At times, what we call “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

We must remember that our needs will come to an end, but Jesus Christ will remain forever. If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, we’ve missed a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we’ll spend eternity. Let’s invest time in pursuing intimacy with Christ. Then we can enjoy the benefits of that relationship forever.

How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you spending any time getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and tells us to pray about everything, He also wants us to come to Him just because we enjoy being with Him.

:bulletgreen: For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
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Comments6
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EdenEvergreen's avatar
Someone said they received a message from God during a time of prayer:

"Seek My face, not My hand."

It strongly resembles the message given above.

Get to know Him, instead of focusing too much on what [you hope] He will do for you. :)

God does not resemble a big vending machine up in the sky. We can't put in some formula ... such as a few good deeds, or donations to a good cause, or a specific phrasing in a prayer ... and then expect Him to automatically grant us whatever we want.

God is far greater than that -- and He has a mind of His own.

He will provide for our needs, though He may choose to provide for us through methods we would neither expect nor anticipate.

Our wants... well, those might not be healthy for us (spiritually). So some "wants" might receive a response which amounts to: "no."

I don't know if the people who say they received the message mentioned above really heard from God, or not. I don't know them personally. Unfortunately, I do know that many people neglect to "test the spirits" according to 1 John 4:1-6). However, that particular message (about seeking His face instead of His hand) does appear to conform to Scripture.

The recipient of the message foolishly disobeyed this instruction. However, unless the Lord is in something, attempting it is a waste of time and energy... and that is what happened to them.

"If it is not the Lord who builds a house, the builders are wasting their time. If it is not the Lord who watches over the city, the guards are wasting their time." (Psalm 127:1 -- the link displays this verse in all English translations)

Let's learn that lesson, shall we? Let's not repeat that mistake, as so many others have done, and also end up falling on our own faces... and embarrassing ourselves. ;P

If you want God's greatest blessings, learn what He wants and then do that. His will is likely to be different for each person, though it will never contradict Scripture.

A word to the wise. :nod:

May God richly bless you through Christ. :aww: