Nice & Wavy
Well-Known Member
By Gaspar Anastasi
We often confuse the business of “doing” things in life with “making progress” in life. The children of Israel come to mind as a good example of this, wandering about in the desert for forty years, but never reaching their destination. According to experts, their trip from Egypt to the Promised Land could have been accomplished in 11 days. They certainly had a lot of movement… but very little progress!
Here are some examples of how we confuse movement with true change and personal growth:
• Christian Maturity: People are convinced that because they do things for the Lord, they are spiritually mature. They say things like, “I go to church three times a week, I’m part of the choir and in my spare time I even pray for the sick.” Those are all good things to do, but spiritual growth is best measured by whether or not we act like the Lord: if we are Christ-like. The fruit of the Spirit we exhibit is the tool to measure true godliness. In describing this deception, 2 Timothy 3:5&7 says, “ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Paul tells Timothy that “religion” doesn’t assure someone has godliness, or they understand the power of God or that they are mature Christians.
• We talk it but don’t walk it: We are deceived if we believe we have changed by the movement of our mouths, not our feet, because talking change doesn’t mean that we are changed! I previously wrote a blog titled, “Change Is Not Change Until It Has Changed”. Some people are convinced they have turned the corner because they talk as though they have changed. In reality they are like the children of Israel; just going around in circles. You see this in marriages; a promise to change is made, but you never see any progress in their relationship with each other. We also see this pattern (movement without progress) in dead beat employees, or substance abusers promising to change. In the parable in Matthew 21:28-31, Jesus compares two sons. One did not fulfill the promise he made to the father. The other one was not willing at first, but changed his mind and actually did the work his father asked him. Jesus said that assuredly, the one who did the work was the one who did his father’s will.
What are we to do? It is frustrating when we realize we haven’t made any progress. But, here are a few things to help us come out of the deception that motion alone means progress:
1. Clarify your goals. Too often we have double vision concerning the destination of our life’s journey. We will never hit a target if we have double vision. James 1: 7&8 tells us a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and won’t receive anything from God.
2. Don’t take short cuts. We all like the path of least resistance, but the easy way and the shortest way is often the wrong way. People offer us ways to get rich quick, a simple way to make our marriage work, lose weight without changing our eating habits, etc. But they never work!
3. Don’t try to save your life. It’s impossible to avoid making the personal sacrifices necessary for true progress to take place in our lives. We must carry our cross daily and deny our fleshly desires to walk the road of progress. The faster we accept the truth that progress requires sacrifice, the faster we will make true progress. There is no progress without a cross.
Conclusion. Let’s stop wandering around our mountains, substituting movement for progress. It is Satan’s great deception, so let’s wake up and stop comparing ourselves to the world’s measure of progress. But instead, let’s measure our progress according to God’s word.
We often confuse the business of “doing” things in life with “making progress” in life. The children of Israel come to mind as a good example of this, wandering about in the desert for forty years, but never reaching their destination. According to experts, their trip from Egypt to the Promised Land could have been accomplished in 11 days. They certainly had a lot of movement… but very little progress!
Here are some examples of how we confuse movement with true change and personal growth:
• Christian Maturity: People are convinced that because they do things for the Lord, they are spiritually mature. They say things like, “I go to church three times a week, I’m part of the choir and in my spare time I even pray for the sick.” Those are all good things to do, but spiritual growth is best measured by whether or not we act like the Lord: if we are Christ-like. The fruit of the Spirit we exhibit is the tool to measure true godliness. In describing this deception, 2 Timothy 3:5&7 says, “ Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Paul tells Timothy that “religion” doesn’t assure someone has godliness, or they understand the power of God or that they are mature Christians.
• We talk it but don’t walk it: We are deceived if we believe we have changed by the movement of our mouths, not our feet, because talking change doesn’t mean that we are changed! I previously wrote a blog titled, “Change Is Not Change Until It Has Changed”. Some people are convinced they have turned the corner because they talk as though they have changed. In reality they are like the children of Israel; just going around in circles. You see this in marriages; a promise to change is made, but you never see any progress in their relationship with each other. We also see this pattern (movement without progress) in dead beat employees, or substance abusers promising to change. In the parable in Matthew 21:28-31, Jesus compares two sons. One did not fulfill the promise he made to the father. The other one was not willing at first, but changed his mind and actually did the work his father asked him. Jesus said that assuredly, the one who did the work was the one who did his father’s will.
What are we to do? It is frustrating when we realize we haven’t made any progress. But, here are a few things to help us come out of the deception that motion alone means progress:
1. Clarify your goals. Too often we have double vision concerning the destination of our life’s journey. We will never hit a target if we have double vision. James 1: 7&8 tells us a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and won’t receive anything from God.
2. Don’t take short cuts. We all like the path of least resistance, but the easy way and the shortest way is often the wrong way. People offer us ways to get rich quick, a simple way to make our marriage work, lose weight without changing our eating habits, etc. But they never work!
3. Don’t try to save your life. It’s impossible to avoid making the personal sacrifices necessary for true progress to take place in our lives. We must carry our cross daily and deny our fleshly desires to walk the road of progress. The faster we accept the truth that progress requires sacrifice, the faster we will make true progress. There is no progress without a cross.
Conclusion. Let’s stop wandering around our mountains, substituting movement for progress. It is Satan’s great deception, so let’s wake up and stop comparing ourselves to the world’s measure of progress. But instead, let’s measure our progress according to God’s word.
