Transactional
Christianity
Philippians
2:5-11
One of the topics I find it difficult to preach on is
heaven. Too many (most? all?) of the things we say about heaven are human
constructs. We’ve taken the very
little information we find in the Bible and created a view of heaven that
reflects what we imagine would be an ideal life on earth. If you think about the jokes we tell about
heaven you’ll see what I mean.
I also find it difficult to talk about heaven because we
tend to emphasize the eternal life aspect of Christianity at the expense of the
earthly life aspect. As William Booth
said, we become so heavenly-minded that we’re of no earthly use.
I’ve begun to think of this mindset as transactional
Christianity. Many are into the
religion for what they can get out of it—for the reward at the end of the
journey, not for the journey itself.
Think of the occupations we follow. Would we go to our job day after day, year after
year if we didn’t get paid for doing so?
Perhaps there are some people who find their work so rewarding that they
would show up every day just for the joy of a fulfilling task; or jobs that are
so meaningful that we’d be glad to do them for free; but those people and those
jobs are a small minority of the workforce and the job market.
Too many Christians, I believe, approach their religion
in the same way. They endure it so (they
believe) they will be able to walk around heaven for eternity, enjoying the
hereafter more than the here.
I
don’t believe that’s what God intended for us.
I think God had something quite different in mind.
God made the universe and everything in it for the
pleasure of the creatures that inhabit it.
Right now, as far as we can prove, those creatures are limited to the ones
on earth, since we have not yet found extraterrestrial life.
We’re
not supposed to view our life here on earth as a slog to drudge our way through
until we die. Yes, I know, life is not
an unending bowl of cherries. We all
face the potential problems of disease, serious physical conditions, aging, job
loss, family disappointments—so many potential hardships that it is easy to let
them overwhelm our enjoyment of life. Surely,
this is not the way God intended it; but we know it’s the way life is. God has given us this life, this planet, this
universe to enjoy, and enjoy it we should.
God has given us work to do—not the job where we earn
enough to buy the things we need for survival and want for pleasure, but the
work we are called to do for God. It is
this work which should give us the greatest pleasure of all.
I believe this is part of what Paul had in mind when he
wrote these words to the church at Philippi.
Jesus didn’t empty himself because at the end of the road he would
become Lord of the universe, with every creature acknowledging the superiority
of his name. Jesus emptied himself
because it was the right thing to do. It
was his work assignment from God, the Father.
Was it always easy? Of course
not! Was the ending of his life painful
and degrading? Of course it was! Life wasn’t perfect for Jesus any more than
it is for us—perhaps, in some ways, less so than for many of us. Jesus’ relationship with the Father was not transactional. It was a relationship of service.
This is the life we are called to, a life of joyful
service to the God who created us, who loves us, and sustains us. If Jesus fulfilled his Father’s will can we
do anything less?
No comments:
Post a Comment