So What?

Recently I had a conversation with a Christian businessman regarding his witness and walk with Jesus. He is what I would call a FAD Christian: Frustrated and Disenchanted. Like many Christians he has pursued what is popular in church, serving, Bible studies, evangelistic courses, training seminars, conferences and so forth. Yet he was failing to see the point of it all as he saw little difference in his life and that of others. How is it that someone and many others like him can have so much Biblical and training input yet find themselves asking so what? What difference does it make in everyday life other than being a moral and nice person?

I think to answer this question we need to ask another one, “What did Jesus mean by the Kingdom”? In three of the gospels Jesus announced his ministry as bringing or proclaiming the “Good News of the Kingdom”. By “Kingdom” Jesus meant a way of life, a vision for how the world ought to be, how we humans were intended to live. This way of life encompasses everything; social, vocational, educational, economic, leisure, political, every aspect of life, and not just the spiritual life. However, the gospel in the West has been largely reduced to dealing with sin and getting to heaven. It has led to seeing life as two separate spheres, that which has spiritual significance like church involvement and evangelism, and then everything else. 

the secular - spiritual divide

Jesus had no such separation in mind. For him everything we do has spiritual significance. Paul affirms this with his statement, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31).  How do we bring glory to God? By fulfilling God’s command to love our neighbour. Of course we all know this verse but I think we’ve heard it so much that we really don’t know what it means. It is much more than being kind to others. Rather it is to intentionally seek the good of those around us, to contribute to their flourishing irregardless if they are Christian or not, or whether or not our acts lead to a gospel conversation. It is to bring Christian virtues into the communities of which we are a part to enable the members to flourish.

Back to my Christian businessman. I went on to ask him what the culture was like at his workplace. One of the things he mentioned was that although they were to work as a team, sharing information with one another, people instead intentionally with held information so as to protect their positions. This of course led to distrust and insecurity and hampered decision making. I put it to him that he should be asking God what he could do to change this culture of distrust and insecurity. By doing so he would be bringing the kingdom to his workplace and enabling his colleagues to flourish. 

everyday life is our opportunity to bring the kingdom

All around us are people who live a way that is harmful to others, that exploits people and resources, creates animosity, distrust, and in so doing prevents others and themselves from flourishing. What an opportunity for us to demonstrate God’s way of living and in so doing bring Him glory. When life is approached this way everything we do has spiritual significance, every interaction with others is an opportunity to glorify God and bring the Good News of the Kingdom to them. However, in many of these situations our natural tendency is to keep our heads down, to not stir the waters. We excuse ourselves by saying we lack the influence or power to change anything. In saying this we are basically saying, “God you can’t do anything here”. Thankfully Gideon didn’t go down this route. 

Later my business friend said he was encourage by this new outlook. No longer was a significant part of his life spiritually insignificant. Now a whole new vista opened up to him of how he could make Jesus known to those around him.