Don't always go for the flash.

Back at Christmas my wife bought me an iPad as a gift. For the first few months all I used it for was to display my sermon notes while preaching and to play a Marvel video game called Contest of Champions. The video game advances through levels as you assemble a team that takes turns in a one-on-one match up between Marvel superheroes like Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, and Ironman. The video game is addictive and my boys have played it whenever they've had the chance. Recently I picked up my iPad after one of my boys had played the game. I couldn't figure out why they had picked Ironman and a few other players for a particular level that would have called for different superheroes. Once I realized what they had done I couldn't help but notice the problem. They had gone for Ironman and some of the more well known superheroes that had a lot of flash. Instead they should have selected less flashy heroes and put the right pieces in place regardless of how popular or flashy they were.

This same principle translates over to the spiritual development of a Christian. Some times Christians sacrifice sound, biblical growth for something much less enduring. Rather than practicing solid disciplines, such as prayer, bible study, etc., they will settle for the flash of a Sunday morning worship service. They believe that they can grow into spiritual maturity by living off the spiritual snacks gleaned from an hour long service that generally requires no effort on their part. This idea is the equivalent of feeding a child nothing but chicken nuggets for every meal, every day of their life. No one in their right mind would expect that child to grow up to be a healthy teen or adult. Then why in the world would a Christian expect to grow into spiritual adulthood by living off nothing but the chicken nuggets they get from a one hour service on Sundays? Don't think this issue is new to the world of faith because it's not. The writer of Hebrews addressed the same exact issue 2,000 years ago in Hebrews 5:11-14. He wrote, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (NIV). The writer describes people who ought to have matured to the point of being teachers, but instead are still infants in their faith. And here we are, 2,000 years later with the same problem affecting Christians. 

So how does one fix this problem in their own life? First they have to be committed to growing in their faith or else they won't put in the necessary work. Commit to making prayer, bible study, and other biblical disciplines a part of your daily life. Then schedule the time to practice them. Find a regular time in your routine where you have time to practice these disciplines. If it means getting up earlier, get up earlier. If it means not watching as much TV of an evening, then turn the TV off. Each person is different, so don't think you and your spouse or friend have to have the same prayer time or bible reading habits. The important thing is to make the commitment, make it a part of your daily routine, and watch God grow you spiritually.


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