I was trying to look for Christian Books at one bookstore and trying to look for something different. As I am trying to renew my awareness of God’s wonderful works and teachings, I would want to explore ways of getting to know him more outside the church. I am a Christian my whole life, but through a personal evaluation, I realized that I was more of an “occasional” follower rather than a “person holistically involved to Christ”. Hence, my journey to my spiritual renewal began. As a start, I became more involved in church, becoming a Children’s Church Helper, tending to the little ones, who would someday become God’s helpers, I try my best to instill in them the importance of being with Christ.
As I try not to stay away from the books that show and teach you about God and living a life with him, as well as the Bible, I came across this unique book that teaches the opposite. Although this may be somewhat unsafe especially for some who are still a “baby Christian”, since this book might be taken literally and lose its real purpose, I would still recommend this especially for us who became so accustomed to claiming that we are CHRISTIANS but live the opposite life.
The name of the book is The 77 Habits of Highly Ineffective Christians by Chris Fabry.
As a Christian for my entire life, I believe that this little book packs a big punch to my life as a believer of Christian. Just glancing through some of the pages, it has shown me my weakness as a “lukewarm Christian”. Since I am now on the course to “renovating my Christian life” and living my life’s purpose as God’s servant, I hope to learn more and be enlightened with this book. A word of caution to my readers though, I am not writing this to preach or even persecute anyone who lives by these rules. I know you have your own reason why you live such way. My only purpose for writing this is to share and enlighten some of you who might have the question, “what is really the purpose of my existence?” and maybe help you become informed through the book’s thoughts and the wisdom it has to offer. I would also be quoting scriptures from one of the best-selling books of all time, The Bible, so it’s best if you got a Bible, open it up and read through the scriptures that I am sharing. J
So without further ado, let’s begin to go through this book and learn together.
Tips on how to become an INEFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN #1: DICHOTOMIZE YOUR LIFE.
What is the meaning of the word dichotomize? The root word “DICHOTOMY” means division into two parts, kinds, etc. It also means subdivision into halves or pairs. Looking at the meanings, you would find the common word, DIVISION. So, to DICHOTOMIZE means to become divided into two parts.
The book writes that an ineffective Christian divides his life into two parts: SECULAR and SPIRITUAL. Ineffective Christians believe that spirituality is something achieved only on specific days and the reason of their living is not really affected by this so-called reality. The rest of their existence is based solely on the activities that are happening around them. This method could also be called COMPARTMENTALIZATION. A mediocre Christian believes that worshipping God, praying, reading the Bible and coming to church are all part of spirituality and must not be done on the days they delegate for their “normal life”. These people are so afraid to speak of faith outside church. They believe that if you do this, not only are you sacrificing your lifestyle, but you are also making your personality suffer because once you show how good and righteous you are as a Christian, you “normal” friends might never understand this lifestyle that you might end up being alone. This is one fear that an average Christian that they can’t face. They are so afraid to unconform with the world that they believe a life with compartments is the best way to approach this dilemma. Also, average Christians are anxious to acknowledge the simplest wonders God made, like a beautiful sunrise, the peaceful calm you feel when you hear the waves crashing against the rocks, or the brightest stars in the sky. An ordinary Christian never talks about spirituality outside the church on their “spiritual” day. They are afraid to mess up their system of compartmentalization. For an ineffective Christian, praying silently about major decisions in life regarding work or their personal life is totally an acceptable behavior. This is their way of making themselves believe that they have built a strong relationship with God already. But, when it comes to making Jesus Christ as part of their daily, “normal” lives, it is impossible for them to achieve this reality. Why? Because these people are afraid to confuse their lifestyle and are afraid to make their lives suffer from discrimination.
A major note to become a truly ineffective Christian: your whole life is not offered to God, only parts that you wish for him to see.
Though, if you want to be enlightened, the book of Romans 12:1-2 writes that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to the living God. This is one of our commandments. This SHOULD become our lifestyle. Now I am not saying that you go and become like that famous nun or that guy who gave her whole life into servitude or that other person who became infamous for his fasting to achieve solidarity and peace in his country. While are all inspirational, of course, we would like to become more than a news, a worldwide sensation. As it was written in the scripture, Romans 12:1-2,
Note to self: I must be more than just a Christian follower; I must also be a Christian doer, making God a part of my daily living.
Question for you: What have you done for God lately???
Tomorrow’s topic: Tips on how to become an INEFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN #2: MAKE TOLERANCE YOUR GOD.
No comments:
Post a Comment