THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATS AND DOGS
Our church had a missions conference this past weekend, hosted by John Marsh of UnveilinGlory Ministries. The running theme of his talks was the difference between "cat" Christians and "dog" Christians. As he put it: "The dog says, 'You love me, you feed me, you take care of me . . . you must be God!' The cat says, 'You love me, you feed me, you take care of me . . . I must be God!'"
Sounds silly, but how easily we are like the cat. Even and especially when we think we are totally committed to God, is it not often on our terms? We make plans and then ask God to bless them. We call on His name when we are sick or in financial distress. We seek for our churches and ministries to grow in quality and quantity. What could be more noble than such things?
And yet, as our speaker put it, in doing such things we can so easily swap theology with "Me-ology." This whole life thing is about God, not us. His glory, not ours. His plans, not ours. Bringing our plans to God is good, but not when we haven't taken the time to listen for His plans for us. Calling on His name for our daily needs is good, but not when God as Provider is replaced by God as Santa Claus. Wanting our Christian work to increase is good, but not if it is for our glory.
With material comfort and relative freedom of worship, we have been lulled into a watered-down faith that I believe is no faith at all. "Cat" Christianity would seem to be the best of both worlds: allegiance to the Christian faith, with all the perks the world has to offer. But the Bible makes it clear that one cannot serve two masters. And Jesus leaves nothing for guessing when he says that many who think they're "in" will find out that He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23).
It's time for us to repent of our "me-first" faith, in which we conveniently fit God into our plans, our lifestyles, and our agendas. A more abundant life is waiting for us, should we choose to die to self and live for Christ. That last phrase rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? I've said it so many times. But how many times have I lived it? How many times have I lived for myself, even in doing things "for Jesus" or "because of Jesus" -- as if I were being noble in including Him in my life -- rather than subordinating myself in pursuit of taking part in His life. For God to condescend to interact with, work through, and love us: that is truly noble.
Our church had a missions conference this past weekend, hosted by John Marsh of UnveilinGlory Ministries. The running theme of his talks was the difference between "cat" Christians and "dog" Christians. As he put it: "The dog says, 'You love me, you feed me, you take care of me . . . you must be God!' The cat says, 'You love me, you feed me, you take care of me . . . I must be God!'"
Sounds silly, but how easily we are like the cat. Even and especially when we think we are totally committed to God, is it not often on our terms? We make plans and then ask God to bless them. We call on His name when we are sick or in financial distress. We seek for our churches and ministries to grow in quality and quantity. What could be more noble than such things?
And yet, as our speaker put it, in doing such things we can so easily swap theology with "Me-ology." This whole life thing is about God, not us. His glory, not ours. His plans, not ours. Bringing our plans to God is good, but not when we haven't taken the time to listen for His plans for us. Calling on His name for our daily needs is good, but not when God as Provider is replaced by God as Santa Claus. Wanting our Christian work to increase is good, but not if it is for our glory.
With material comfort and relative freedom of worship, we have been lulled into a watered-down faith that I believe is no faith at all. "Cat" Christianity would seem to be the best of both worlds: allegiance to the Christian faith, with all the perks the world has to offer. But the Bible makes it clear that one cannot serve two masters. And Jesus leaves nothing for guessing when he says that many who think they're "in" will find out that He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23).
It's time for us to repent of our "me-first" faith, in which we conveniently fit God into our plans, our lifestyles, and our agendas. A more abundant life is waiting for us, should we choose to die to self and live for Christ. That last phrase rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? I've said it so many times. But how many times have I lived it? How many times have I lived for myself, even in doing things "for Jesus" or "because of Jesus" -- as if I were being noble in including Him in my life -- rather than subordinating myself in pursuit of taking part in His life. For God to condescend to interact with, work through, and love us: that is truly noble.
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