Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.  Philippians 3:17-19

I love music and listen to it quite a bit.  Sometimes I use it to calm me or rearrange my thoughts, sometimes I listen to get motivated and at other times it’s for the pure enjoyment of it.  My collection is quite varied in both genres and eras as it ranges from the 1930s to the present.  Recently, I was at the gym and the song “Lady Godiva” by Peter and Gordon started playing.  While some may not appreciate the song, I listen to it occasionally as a reminder to not get caught up in “lesser things”.  In case you’re not familiar or haven’t heard the song in the last five decades, the lyrics tell the story of a young and beautiful woman pursues fame and fortune.  In the process, she compromises and forfeits all of the things that made her beautiful, but never achieves the fame that she desires and becomes so poor that she can’t afford her clothes.  God offers us so much, but too often people get off course with respect to godliness and forfeit their faith for lesser things that are useless and meaningless in light of eternity.  Time and time again we are reminded in scripture to pursue God and His truth in various ways and the reasons are clearly explained to us.  However, some reject the concept, some ignore it, while others struggle with it.  Three reasons why it may be difficult are: hope, pride, and fear.

Proverbs 13:12 tells us that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”  We can endure much and live well with hope in God and His faithfulness, but what about those without the right kind of hope or no hope at all?  Those who reject God are truly hopeless whether or not they understand that.  It’s easy to understand that those who are truly evil have no hope and live both for the moment and purely for themselves.  Secular hedonists are similar.  While they may not be as lawless, they live for whatever pleasure they can find because they have no hope beyond the moment and live for the sake of pleasure.  Then there are those whose hope is a good life.  They too lack the hope of eternity, but they find satisfaction in a moral life.  They may be kind, generous and law-abiding, but their hope is in their ability to live a “good life” or rather, themselves.  In the end, they still have no real hope.  All of these forfeit true joy in this life and the hope of eternity for the lessor things of this life.  In contrast, Jeremiah, the man of sorrows, reminds us that “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD.”  (Jeremiah 17:7)

Pride comes in many forms, even in the Christian community, and is often hard to detect…especially in ourselves.  Christ addressed this when He spoke of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were the religious leaders of their day.  While they knew the scripture and followed the Mosaic Law meticulously, they weren’t living for God.  They traded godliness for intellect and perfectionism.  However, the problem is not limited to religious prowess.  Allowing our careers to become a priority to the detriment of other aspects of life sacrifices relationships and faith to achieve earthly success.  When we become obsessive in managing our illness or our health, we are building idols that pull us from God.   Stoicism in the face of especially difficult trials or attempting to manage them on our own deprives us of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In all of these we are forfeiting godliness for the sake of our pride.  Paul speaks to this as well with respect to himself in Philippians three.  He considers them all loss or rubbish “in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (v. 8).  Certainly we are called to live well and give every task our best effort, but when intellect, perfectionism or stoicism takes over, we sacrifice godliness for pride and self sufficiency.

Fear is a tricky subject.  It is a proper fear of God that causes us to respect Him and obey Him.  Likewise, it is an appropriate fear of death that drives us to self-preservation by caring for our bodies, avoiding overly risky situations and defending ourselves.  However, it is our fear of loss and refusing to submit ourselves to the will of God that undermines our relationship with Him and impedes our spiritual growth.  People regularly fear: losing their comfort level or life as they know it; losing loved ones; being alone; the loss of jobs;  the loss of their wealth; or the loss of their life to name a few.  While these may all be difficult circumstances, how we respond is a choice between the best or the lesser thing.  When we reject God’s plan for us; accuse Him of a lack of love, goodness or faithfulness; or get angry with Him, we wallow frustration and disillusionment and drift away from Him.  However, when we humble ourselves and believe “that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose”(Romans 8:28), we open ourselves to draw near to Him and receive whatever provision He deems to be appropriate.  Sometimes God provides relief or healing, sometimes it is His comfort and sustaining grace; while at other times He may open our eyes to see the goodness in His plan.  The former undermines or chokes out our faith and godliness while the latter draws us near to God, adds depth to our faith, equips us and gives us a testimony. Those are the best things.

Living well and pursuing godliness is about balance, focus and choice.  The balance comes when we understand what is our responsibility and what should be left to God.  We are called to live well, obey God’s principals and pursue godliness but we must do that with the mindset that God is ultimately in control and is our source of strength and wisdom.  When our primary focus is the things of this world we will err more often than not.  However, when we live and make our decisions in light of eternity, we honor our God and experience joy and peace.  Understanding our responsibility and keeping our focus on eternity allows us to make better choices. We forfeit “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these” to achieve “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:19-23).    In this we choose the best things.  In every circumstance of our lives, God promises that He will provide for us and will never leave us or forsake us, but we must trust Him.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Will