Good Men Build on Shifting Sands

I recently had the privilege of hearing 29 men share what a three-day spiritual retreat meant to them and what they were going to do because of the impact of the retreat. Each man triumphantly proclaimed that they had experienced something personal and deeply rewarding. Their tearful gratitude was sincere and moving. Yet, something was missing.

While nearly every man spoke of grace, most moved directly from their experience of grace to their need to do more or be better. Not one mentioned “faith.” For full disclosure, I’m on the board of this ministry.

It just didn’t sit right.

Is grace meant to challenge us to do more and be better, or is grace meant to relieve the burden to do more and be better?

Could it be that somewhere along our way the modern Church has heard the call to become people of faith as a call to do more and be better instead?

Has the goal of becoming faithful been replaced by the goal of becoming good or at least better?

Is it simply semantics, or could this be a serious issue?

Was being good and doing more not the path of most of first century Judaism when Jesus arrived?

I fear that in most modern ministries we have made maturity, rather than faith, the goal of our discipleship efforts. This is particularly distressful if we use a behavioral checklist to determine maturity. We use compelling preaching, moving dramas, dynamic music, and powerful prayers to move people to excitement, gratitude, and action. Then we tell them that they must be more patient, kind, honest, giving, loving, humble, respectful, forgiving, confessing, persevering, and self-disciplined while reading Scripture every day, attending small groups, worship services, Sunday Schools, and serving. It’s the perfect plan for leaving overwhelmed believers in puddles like candles lit on both ends

But if they continue to check the boxes, we affirm their growth toward spiritual maturity.

We affirm them as “good men.”

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’”

Luke 18:19

Consider the heroes of Scripture - Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, Isaiah, David, Job… - were they known as “good, mature men” or as “men of faith?”

I believe that we are called to be people of faith. The behaviors that lead to being known as good or mature, naturally follow people committed to faith, yet they may also be pursued apart from faith.

When we focus on becoming good or better, we focus on what people see. We focus on building the most attractive house we can build, perhaps without regard to the foundation. People of faith build on a foundation of faith. We focus on learning and discerning God’s Word, through reading, studying, praying over, hearing, meditating, and seeking wise counsel.

In John 10:27, Jesus said,” My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

How do we hear his voice?

We become familiar with his word.

We allow God to nudge, convict, challenge, inspire, direct, or show us our next right choice.

Perhaps that’s to confess something or deal with one’s favorite sin.

Perhaps it’s to be more kind or an opportunity to be generous or humble.

When people of faith discern that God is guiding us to make a choice, we make that choice regardless of what it is, and trust God to meet us there. Each time we make the next right choice, we take another step in our walk with God. Those steps tend to shape our behaviors and lead to becoming what might be considered more mature or better Christians, but those are simply the aftereffects of being faithful rather than a result that we may reach without actual faith.