faithfulness | Dr. Mike Spaulding

I remember hearing a story not long ago about a young, up-and-coming stockbroker who dreamed of making it big one day. He adjusted everything in his life to enhance his career and realize his dreams.

One day this young stockbroker had a chance encounter with a friend from school and during their conversation about their lives since graduation, the young stockbroker decided to impress his schoolmate with the potential success he was hoping to achieve.

He took his friend on a drive to the local marina and began to point out the huge yachts at the dock. He pointed to one and said, “That one belongs to the senior partner at Merrill Lynch. That one over there is owned by the CEO of Goldman Sachs. And look at that yacht over there; that is the pride and joy of the top seller at Prudential-Bache.”

The young stockbroker glanced at his friend expecting to see a look of wonder and awe but instead, he saw a pained look accompanied by silence. The young stockbroker was taken aback and asked his friend what was wrong. The friend responded, “I was just wondering, are there any customer’s yachts you can show me?”

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During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln was asked whether he thought God was on the side of the North. After a few moments of thought the grim-faced Lincoln replied, “The real question is not whether God is on our side, but whether we are on God’s side.”

Christians today must face the same question. Are we calling on God to be on our side – whatever that may be – or are we joining God’s side? Put another way, have we constructed gods of our own making to serve our needs or are we serving the God of the Bible? God asks, “To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal” (Isaiah 40:25).

Author Don McCollough suggests that many churches today have created either a “god-of-my-cause, a god-of-my-understanding, or a god-of-my-experience” that fills the void left by an abandonment of God and of true Christianity.

The “god-of-my-cause” manifests itself when churches begin with what they believe to be a good and worthy cause (liberation and feminist theologies come to mind immediately) and ends up using God to justify their participation. This re-casting of God into the mold of the cause is tantamount to fashioning a new calf of social righteousness.

The “god-of-my-understanding” is a vile and demonic representation of Christianity through denominationalism. Denominationalism is at its roots responsible for much of the strife and hostility seen in the church today. Doctrinal lines are drawn in the sand, enemies named and challenged, and theological self-assuredness abounds. Yet as McCollough points out, Christians forget that God is not contained in any theological system. Indeed, theological endeavors demand humility as much as critical thinking.

Finally, the “god-of-my-experience” has intercepted the movement of the Holy Spirit in many congregations. Churches are locked into my form of worship, my style of prayer, my focus in service. This mentality squeezes the life out of the body. The subjective rules over the objective and style wins over substance. The result is that Christians become “ingrown” and narrow-minded.

What can be done to overcome such tendencies? First, we must understand that a god we wish to fashion to fit our cause is ultimately no bigger than ourselves. Secondly, we must accept that this god cannot save us from our sins. Third, we must understand that any god that does not free us from the prison of our individual perspectives is nothing but a construct of our minds.

So whose god are you following? My prayer is that you are following the one and only true God who has revealed Himself to us through the Bible.

Run well today brothers and sisters.