​Hold Tightly

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4 ESV

​American Christians have traded the Great Commission for the American Dream. We have traded the glory of God for the glory of self. We are not leveraging our lives to make disciples for the glory of God.  We are leveraging our lives for comfort, pleasure, leisure, and the glory of ME. Instead of seeking the things above, where Christ is, we are seeking the things of the world. We are not discipling the world; the world is discipling us. As a pastor these are the things that keep me up at night. I worry that people I love, my family, my friends, and my church family are not ready to die or for Christ to return. I’m afraid that they are clinging too tightly to the things of this world and not tightly to Christ who is above.
 
Colossians continues:
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.” Colossians 3:5-6 ESV
 
Read the first three words there in Colossians 3:5 again. Everything that is “earthly” PUT TO DEATH. Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, and evil desire are all pointing to sexual sin. Why is it that the first four things that we need to “put to death” are all related to sexual sin? Well look around. We live in a sex crazed society. But it’s not just sexual sin that Jesus points out. There is also covetousness or greed. The American Dream isn’t a bad thing in and of itself. The dream that everyone has an equal opportunity to better themselves is not bad. However, greed and covetousness has been added to this dream. In a lot of cases, it’s not just about having all your needs met to provide for yourself and your family, now it’s about having all the excesses for you and your family.  To get all the things we want, so that we can fulfill our own little American Dream, we must sacrifice time and energy and then sacrifice time and energy to enjoy those things. This is where greed and covetous become idolatry. We sacrifice a lot of time and energy to stuff. This is why our Bibles collect dust and why we switch that alarm clock off on Saturday nights to sleep in on Sunday morning. 
 
According to a Gallup poll from 2021 somewhere around two-thirds of Americans claim to be Christian, and that number looks to be declining even more since then. They may claim it, but they are not. We know this because media and advertisements would not look the way they look. What most of these 210 million Americans are actually claiming is that they believe there is a God, and they have some sort of family connection to Christianity. Less than fifty percent of Americans said that religion is very important. If you claim to be a Christian and you would say that your faith isn’t very important…you’re not a Christian. Twenty-two percent of Americans reported that they attend Church every week, nine percent said almost every week and eleven percent said about once a month. Then fifty-six percent of Americans say they attend church seldom (25%) or never (31%) (If you’re doing the math, I guess 2% didn’t respond). Simply put, these numbers do not give any confidence that most of these people are actually Christians. 
 
People believe in God because God’s existence is self-evident (Romans 1:19-20). Only fools say that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). But believing in God does nothing for you. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” (James 2:19 ESV) One of the main points of the second chapter of James is that saving faith is faith that can be seen. People should be able to see a difference in you compared to the rest of the world. You’ll do things that others think is really weird. You won’t do things that everyone else is doing. You won’t be perfect, but you will be different. 
 
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 ESV). May this be our prayer. May we understand that our days are numbered. “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14 ESV). “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42 ESV). We will either die or the Lord will return. Are you ready? Are you holding tight to the things above or to earthly things? Are you building the Lord’s Kingdom or your own? Are you discipling the world or is the world discipling you? 
 
We don’t know when Jesus will return, and we don’t know when we will die but until one of those things happen, we have work to do. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 ESV). Living a faithful Christian life will no doubt bring persecution. Every day the world grows angrier and more hostile towards the Christian faith. Our own society here in the United States considers many of the doctrines of Scripture to bigoted, and hateful. Celebrities and other people who are in the spotlight who have expressed views that are in line with Christian views are being canceled all over. Don’t think they won’t come for your job as well. On that day will you stand for Christ, or will you give in to avoid persecution? I’ll ask again, are you holding tight to things above or to earthly things? 
 
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21 ESV