Are Your Tools In The Way?

This summer my church is doing a series focused on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The big challenge of this series is for us to carve out space to pull away from the busyness of life and spend time with Jesus.

A quick look at the context: When Jesus’ taught the Sermon on the Mount, His ministry had started to peak. People were literally coming from throughout the Roman empire to see Jesus work His magic. In the midst of all this, He grabbed His closest disciples and pulled them away from the crowds in order to truly teach them what He was all about.

I wonder what the disciples were thinking when Jesus pulled them aside. They weren’t exactly number one draft picks, you know. Some were your run of the mill fishermen, but others were legitimately hated by most of the Jewish community. Whatever these guy had been following wasn’t really working out for them. Whether they were looking to religion, money and status, or just a living wage, they all wanted something more.

Their stories aren’t too different from ours. Each day we have the choice to follow after Jesus or to follow something else; to pull away from the crowds and listen to His teaching or to look to something else for guidance.

When it comes to those of us who are committed to the Christian lifestyle, we do a pretty good job of not following society. We’re taught from a young age to be “in the world, but not of it,” so even though our attitudes kinda suck sometimes, we typically stay away from bad things.

Sometimes I wonder, though. Are we willing following Jesus, or we just following the Christian stereotype and what were expected to be?

In America, we truly do have a lot of privilege and tools available to help us grow in our faith. We have bookstores dedicated to selling Christian materials, but it’s also not uncommon to find Bibles at Target. There are openly Christian-based businesses here, too. Heck, there’s a Christian eye clinic about a mile away from my house.

Don’t get me wrong. None of those things are bad. I just worry that we put more focus on following the tools we’ve been given rather than actually following Jesus.

I’m an avid reader, and I have a few podcasts that I listen to regularly. These tools have been huge in my spiritual growth. However, my struggle is that I start using these as the way to measure and challenge my faith journey rather than looking to Jesus.

There are a ton of quality people doing amazing work for Jesus. Take my pastor for example. I have a special relationship him and his family. He’s a pretty solid guy who loves Jesus, and I respect him and value his teaching and his leadership.

Jen Hatmaker is another example of someone who has challenged my growth. While I don’t know her personally (I know we’d be best friends if we ever met), her writings and her podcasts have helped me think deeply about the things I truly believe in and stand for.

As awesome as these people are, they are only human. They can’t offer me the same things Jesus can. They may push me spiritually, but they are ultimately not who I am supposed to follow. And I’m certain they’d say the same thing. Their desire would be for me to follow Jesus; their desire is to help push people in that direction.

God truly has given us amazing tools to further our walk with him. He has provided us with everything we need to have a solid relationship with Him. But the question we need to keep asking ourselves is are we letting those tools take the place of Jesus?

I’ll be real with you, this is a tough question. So many of these things are hugely important to our spiritual growth, and none of them are bad! Reading books, going to church, listening to podcasts. These are all amazing ways to help us understand God better, but sometimes, they just get in the way.

I enjoy working out. I really do. Weightlifting is usually my favorite way to exercise, but running was my first love. Sometimes all the parts that go into creating a workout plan is just too much. Rather than just enjoying the exercise, I get overwhelmed by the process and all the things (the equipment, the protein, high reps/low weight vs. low reps/high weight). It's madness. On those days, it's best for me to take a step back and go for a run, to just grab my running shoes and get out the door.

The same strategy works for our spiritual exercise, too. When we sense that we are getting to caught up in following the tools, the best thing we can do is to take a step back. Step away from all the things about Jesus and just be with Jesus. Read the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you trough it rather than reading everyone else's interpretations. Spend time reflecting on what God has done in your life rather than listening to someone else. Take a few moments to have a solid prayer time so you can really, really talk with Jesus.

Don't be afraid to go back to the basics.