A provoking thought was presented to me today through the sermon I heard. You can hear the whole sermon here (just give them a couple of days to post the 11/30 podcast).
The most poignant part for me personally was when the pastor referenced a book by Paul David Tripp (author of a book for parents of teens called Age of Opportunity) called A Quest for More. He cited a chapter entitled "Groanings" in which Tripp paints a picture of a woman who seems to have a wonderful life. She is married to a wonderful husband who has a great job and they have healthy children. They live in a fixed-up farm house that was their dream home. She has wonderful friends who support her and in general just seems to have an idyllic life. She even has a relationship with God and attends a great church regularly.
Tripp goes on to call her ungodly and cites her case in an attempt to "[compel] believers to see beyond the worldly deception of personal achievement, success, materialism, in order to break free from this ungodly fulfillment that is too easily satisfied with a mediocre walk with Christ." Ungodliness is not merely a failure to check the right boxes of holy living, and it is NOT simply a matter of right behavior. Ungodliness creeps in whenever we are satisfied by ANYTHING other than God Himself.
This woman is finding her fulfillment in the wonderful blessings that she has received rather than her relationship with Christ. This is the insidious danger of how we Americans often view the "blessings" we've received. Sadly, it is often these very things which inhibit our view of radical (meaning root -- not extraordinary) fulfillment in God rather than the stuff of this life. I am not advocating masochism or living a life devoid of accepting and embracing these blessings, but I believe most of us in my sphere (including myself) love our blessings more than we love our God. I know I often fall into that trap.
God calls us to a life of faith and trust not in the stuff (physical and immaterial) we have, but in our connection with Him alone. What does this look like? I hope to explore it more tomorrow.
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