REFLECTIONS ON BECOMING A CHRISTIAN
This post is a reflection on my story of how I became a Christian, In essence there really is nothing wrong with the desire to enjoy life, make music, be famous or move to a new country, after all these are gifts given to us by God for our enjoyment and his glory,the problem is the motive in the heart, it occurs when we desire these things more than we desire God. This desire ends up becoming worship, sometimes as artists or (Fill in the blank) our hearts can meditate on the following thoughts,
“Music or (Fill in the blank) will deliver me from obscurity by helping me gain exposure and prestige, it will deliver me from a sense of worthlessness by giving me an identity, music will deliver me from poverty by helping me make a living, music will be my God” - Source Unknown.
Romans 1:25 speaks of this behaviour as mankind try to replace God with things and people, “they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself” My dream’s and ambitions may have seemed innocent from the surface but when we dig deeper into the root of these desires we see how these dreams and pursuits were inspired by a covetous heart.
The bible describes covetousness as idolatry, at the root of covetousness is envy… Envy is defined as “A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another.” Dictionary “It can turn into resentment against God and questioning Him: “Why can’t I have what he has, Lord? Don’t you love me enough to give me what I want?” , ”At its very core, envy is love of self “ Source
It starts with the dreams that are sold to us through friends, family or media then our already sinful prone hearts respond with envy as we desire other peoples lives. We become continuously dissatisfied with what we already have and who we are as we compare ourselves to others then misery and depression follow. To remedy the problem we selfishly pursue what we think is needed with the hope that it will satisfy our discontentment but its just a vicious circle. Even If I got to a level where I thought I have “made it”, I am convinced that I would not be satisfied.
Here are the words from one of the richest men that ever lived. “So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.” Ecclesiastes 2:9-11
Just like the writer of Ecclesiastes who achieved what we all desire and more, I learned that everything we achieve on this earth is meaningless without God. Jesus once said “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
“In the end, envy and covetousness are Satan’s tools to distract us from pursuing the only thing that will ever make us happy and content—God Himself” - Source
I realised that God broke me down because I was so prideful, those trials I went through broke me so he could rebuild me through his holy spirit. God desires that we would find our satisfaction in knowing him and using our lives to help those around us.
Jesus said the most important commandment is to Love God and Love others as yourself, when you pursue God above money, sex, ministry, relationships etc you will become content, you will nolonger be selfish, you will be selfless, you will find your identity in him, you will receive the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control etc. He may or may not change your situation but he will certainly change you for the better.
The Christian life is a daily process of learning who God is as we constantly resist sin and enjoy his presence in our lives, it’s not about doing Christian activities or social actions to be made right with God but its about putting our faith in Jesus alone for the salvation of our souls. I leave you with some scriptures to meditate on fromPhilippians 3:7-14 and Romans 3:23-27
