 Why I Don't Need God (Part 3)
by Eric Schlange, 2/1/04
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The last in a series of essays discussing our pursuit of God.
So far in this series, we've looked at people who 1) have never pursued God, and don't plan on starting anytime soon and those who have 2) pursued God before, but don't any longer. This month, we're going to look at a final group--those who know they should be pursuing God, but are not doing so. Speaking from my own experience (with my own life), I must confess this is the category I often fall into.
You might call it laziness, selfishness, or fear. (In fact, I posted an article on the Edge web site a few months ago titled “Dilbert and the Church” that addresses a similar issue.) But it's a matter of priorities, really. When the Holy Spirit has drawn us to himself, and we've experienced the love of God in our lives, our spirit desires more of this. But our flesh often wins out, placing the temporal over the eternal—seeking death, not life. We choose to sleep in instead of spending time with God… we skip church gatherings to hit the slopes. It's simply a matter of what we truly believe to be important. We can say that pursuing God is an important thing to do—we would probably agree that it's the most important thing to do! But our everyday actions betray what our heart priorities really are.
Wow. Just writing that paragraph made me realize how often I’ve thought about this issue of life priorities as I look at my life and see where I’m not aligned with God’s will. What about you—have you ever pondered this? Have you got “priority issues” as well? This is a product of our sin nature…a fancy way of saying we’re born predisposed to sin. The Apostle Paul makes things pretty clear when he writes of sin: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15)
You see, we're all selfish, sinful people. No matter where we’re at in our pursuit of God, it is only through His grace that our hearts can be changed into hearts which pursue God regularly. As I wrap up this short series, that would be my prayer for all of you (and myself). May God bless us with hearts that burn with a passion to seek His good above our own. To Him be all glory, and honor, and praise!
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