‘Me-Centered’ Religion
Apr 5th, 2007 by Nathan White
How is your quiet time going? How about your daily walk? Are you witnessing? Are you building relationships? Are you a regular at church? Are you putting forth that effort?
Consider the questions above and ask yourself: How have we become so selfish in our pursuits? Why have we reduced Godliness down to something that we primarily work out in our own lives, but only secondarily work towards in others?
I should know. I am a selfish person. I am selfish at heart, even in my religion. I have also been in ‘me-centered’ churches all my life, where ‘me-centeredness’ was both practiced and encouraged. I like to read alone in my study. I feel much more comfortable praying by myself and even for my own needs. Instead of teaching, disciplining, serving, edifying, ministering, and praying with or to others, I’d much rather be reading/studying scripture by myself, in a quiet and undisturbed place. This is a sad religion indeed.
We live in a Christian culture where it is continually drummed into our heads, by both implication and practice of others, that ME is the focus of the Christian life. They teach us that it’s all about you and your walk with God. That it’s all about living that life of holiness! That it’s all about mortifying the flesh, increasing in good works, and the all-important quiet time of bible study and prayer. Sure, they would never come out and explicitly say that ME is the focus of our efforts, but the implications of the teaching and the example that they lead prove otherwise.
Let’s consider Paul’s example:
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” - Philippians 1:21-24
One of the best and often-quoted verses in scripture is the Apostle Paul’s words, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. I love the verse, and often quote it myself as a reminder to live for Christ and Him alone.
However, this verse is one that is often ripped out of its context, something that caught my attention recently while I was meditating on this entire passage. You see, Paul doesn’t have his personal holiness/obedience in mind here. Yes, he starts with the ‘fruitful labor’ in verse 22, but he finishes that thought out with a clear explanation of what this ‘fruitful labor’ is. If you follow him out, Paul summarizes the ‘live is Christ’ thought with ‘to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account’. To live, says Paul, translates into more opportunities to serve others, something that is all too often missing from our modern-day proud quotations of ‘for me to live is Christ’.
To give a brief overview here:
In Philippians 1:3, Paul remembered his church in every prayer to God, not his chains. That is not a me-centered prayer life. In Philippians 1:12, Paul says that his chains are to be rejoiced in because they have advanced the gospel to others. That is not a me-centered outlook on providence. In Phil 1:23-24, Paul concludes that he would rather prolong heaven, heaven, in favor of beatings and chains, if it meant edification for others. It’s no wonder that Paul goes on to instruct a little further down that ‘in humility count others more significant than yourselves’.
We need to get our eyes off ourselves. I’m not talking about getting our eyes off of ourselves in regards to daily wants, desires, preferences, etc., that is certainly another battle. No, I’m talking about getting our eyes off of ourselves within our spiritual lives, where we have most likely been taught to be selfish. Instead of looking at your quiet time to determine how your walk is going, how about looking at how you are sharing that quiet time with others in service to them. Instead of looking at your daily obedience/disobedience as an indication of how ‘good’ you’re doing, how about looking at how you are teaching others to obey what you know to be true.
Do you spend most of your time reading alone? What about reading with your wife, children, or neighbor? Do you keep all of that bible study knowledge to yourself? What about striving to teach others what you learned in your daily devotions? Are you committed to your local church in teaching/disciplining/ministering/serving others? Or are you so dead-focused on what you think is your own, personal, sanctification?
The great Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter, used to walk beside members of his congregation while they worked in the fields during the day, disciplining them and teaching them along the way. That is a man who gets the point of the New Testament. That is a man who realizes that personal holiness is anything but holiness if only one person is affected.
Go, and do likewise!
I appreciate your blog. I couldn’t agree more about the ‘me-centeredness’ of Christianity in our American culture today. Like you, I constantly fight my natural inclination towards selfishness - particularly in regard to my personal holiness. It is so easy to read, study, pray, and grow spiritually by myself, but what use is it if I don’t share all that I have received (1 Cor 4:7) with my wife, kids, friends, and others? I need to be bringing them along side in knowledge, rather than leaving them behind. What will I tell my Savior at the day of judgment when he asks what I did with what He had so richly blessed me with? Lord, forgive my self-centeredness…
Nathan,
When you wrote this, the first thing that came to my mind was what I taught a couple of weeks ago in 1 Peter in a section I called “social holiness.” For example, 1 Peter 2:12 says, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” Why keep you conduct honorable? Why pursue holiness? Why abstain from fleshly lusts? So that evildoers will see your good deeds and glorify God! (cf. Matt. 5:16). This is all throughout the Bible.
Part of the problem in my mind was that my personal sanctification has been seen to only benefit me. When I think of holiness, I think of myself without reference to the world. Yet as Peter again writes, we have been effectually called by God to be a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood for the purpose of publishiing, declaring, proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvellous light. As we live among Gentiles, it is my prayer that they do not blaspheme God on account of our lives (Rom. 2:24) but are drawn to treasure and behold the beauties of our Savior Jesus Christ. May we display His worth as we present our lives as an offering and living sacrifice, which is our spiritual service of worship (Rom. 12:1).
Nathan, don’t you think it’s not really about how much “alone time” you take with God? I mean, the Reformers were famous for praying alone “in their closets” for hours on end. The problem is when all that alone time (no matter the actual total) doesn’t succeed in working itself outward in more community-oriented fashion, right? Your three-hour morning devotional is basically a time of self-deceit if you don’t come to love your neighbor more and more in practical ways as a result of all that study and prayer. I’m suggesting it’s not me-centered to wrestle with God alone in prayer for a long time, even over your own personal issues, as long the fruit of all that prayer is eventually a concern for others.
Scott said: It is so easy to read, study, pray, and grow spiritually by myself, but what use is it if I don’t share all that I have received (1 Cor 4:7) with my wife, kids, friends, and others?
Timmy said: my personal sanctification has been seen to only benefit me. When I think of holiness, I think of myself without reference to the world.
Guys, I struggle with the exact same things, which is one reason I wrote this post. It’s like I can’t escape selfishness no matter where I turn.
However, let me clarify, particularly in light of Gordan’s comment: I’m not decreasing the importance of private study and prayer, I’m only saying that we need to do these things with others in mind, not just ourselves. Holiness isn’t achieved by simply spending 4 hours a day in prayer and study. Yes, we are profiting ourselves, and that certainly has its place, but we are being no profit to others. We were saved to serve, to obey, to look out for others as more important than ourselves. How can we look out for others as more important than ourselves if all we do is focus on our private relationship with God?
What we learn/experience in private, we need to teach to others. Where we grow in private should have clear implications on our public life.
SDG
Nathan,
I second the comments in the last comment you made in addition to the other voices. If we take in and don’t give out, then don’t we in essence become………constipated? Or better yet like a lake that moves into a small cove where th water doesn’t move but becomes stagnant? So are those who constantly take in, but are never moved to bring forth the water of life. In MacArthur’s recent message regarding the Ted Haggard situation, he does an excellent and I might add very convicting job of pointing out just how or holiness, or lack thereof, can effect not only ourselves, but quite possibly ALL believers and unbelievers.
Excellent thought. The truth convicted me as I was reading it.
Nathan,
You may be drawing a bit of a false dichotomy here without meaning to. Jesus prayed often by Himself and was able to balance this with His ministry to others. Of course, like everything we do we must examine who we are doing them unto, that is, unto ourselves or unto God.
Funny, the things you are saying are just what many in the emergent and missional movements are saying. So are you….just kidding, man.
What do you think drove Baxter’s praxis?
Out of time…
Mark
JM,
I’m certainly not trying to say that personal private time isn’t of deep importance, and I’m certainly not trying to sound emergent. I’m just trying to show how the gospel of self and ‘how is your quiet time doing’ has been put up as true holiness in our culture.
I don’t know too much about Baxter, but I look forward to reading more of The Reformed Pastor. Have you read him much?
Nate,
I agree with your post and would encourage you to put this into practice while Courtney is adjusting to a new baby……read the Word TO her….as she is probably too exhausted by the end of the day to even lift a Bible!
I also remember when you kids were in the elementary years of homeschooling……I was convicted of these same things. Instead of praying early in the morning or late in the evening when you guys were in bed, I decided that my kids probably needed to find me on my knees during the day (in order to learn that we are to seek the Lord all during the day). One day as I put this into practice, I was beside my bed in the afternoon, and one of you guys came into my room aghast saying, “Mom! What’s WRONG???” —-that confirmed and proved that my children hadn’t learned that God is a part of our daily lives but only (or predominently) to be sought in times of trouble!
“And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then]
7You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Deut. 6 (Amplified)
Surfed over from Brenda at Rocking Chairs and Rainbows…
As a homeschool mom of 3 girls, thank you, thank you, thank you for validating — even extolling — the practice in fact that nearly all my bible study is shared with these 3 precious little ones. Others would tell me that I’m starving to death spiritually because my time in the Word isn’t in the quiet, predawn hours over a cup of coffee.