I was recently at a conference for my job in the Dallas area; it was held at a well known upscale hotel. On the morning of the second day of this conference I was headed down to the lobby to have breakfast in the hotel restaurant and I couldn’t help but notice the large amount of military personnel that were sitting in the lounge area of the hotel lobby. Some of them were enjoying breakfast, drinking their juice or coffee or using cell phones. As I continued to make my way to the restaurant I noticed a young man sitting in the corner slouched back with a look of anxiety and despair as he stared out the window with his juice and breakfast in front of him. When I walked past him I was struck with the feeling that I was to pray for him. I went into the bathroom and battled back and forth with myself and God about praying for someone out in the open lobby in front of my peers that were all entering the restaurant for breakfast. How I would look? Insane? Like a radical? Then God reminded me of the apostles and how it was not their duty to reason why Jesus spoke the way He did; but only to carry out His orders. Just as this solider was awaiting to fulfill his orders that where handed down to him, whether he totally understood the reason of why he was fulfilling them or not, he had a duty and honor to carry them out. When this thought ran through my head I instantly turned around and reentered the lobby, I stopped and leaned on a pillar in the lobby and started praying for guidance. As I was praying, several people stopped to say hi and ask “what’s wrong” or “who you waiting on” needless to say I was waiting on myself to follow what God had called me to. I finally made my way over to this young man as he ordered an extra cup of ice and ate his breakfast. I approached the soldier and apologized for interrupting his breakfast and proceeded to tell him I wanted to pray for him. As I started small talk about family, friends and his mission I asked again if he needed prayer; he responded “I can use all the prayer I can get.” After praying with him I left with a sense of accomplishment, I had actually stepped out and obeyed God’s commands. I then started to really realize how much of a slacker I was in my walk with God.
Just as men and women are going to battle overseas, we too are engaged in a spiritual battlefield. We are all faced with issues which are life and death and each day that we are indifferent to our responsibility to God is a day lost to the cause of Christ. In our self-indulgent lifestyle we to often concentrate on our selfish desires that we forget we are called to be servants of our Lord and to obey His Word. I struggled with being a Christian because I was always taken back by the amount of people who professed to be Christian yet their witnessing was stunted in growth and useless. Why are there so many Christian’s complacent with mediocrity? Following the teachings of Christ regarding self-denial and dedication have been reduced to involving Jesus only when it is convenient and productive for our selfish desires. Where is the obedience of the cross? (2010, Dr. R.E. Coleman)
We all find ourselves in those moments when we choose to allow Jesus Christ into our lives for help, decision making and guidance. There are also those times when we put Him to the side because it is going to be embarrassing, inconvenient or we are fearful. Wow; this reminds me of Judas. Judas was the disciple who sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (the price for a slave) because he expected that his association with Jesus would be the stepping stones to a future glory and honor in the present day kingdom. When Judas gradually realized the truth of what Jesus was referring too; that an actual cross awaited Him and not a crown Judas abandoned the ship before it sank. Judas made plans to ditch Jesus, get money and get in with the right people before it was too late. Judas wanted to be important, have money, and to prove Jesus wrong. If we are honest this motivation sounds familiar or similar to some of our desires….
Judas was a man who used Jesus when He needed Him, when it was convenient. I was a man who lived for selfish acts that included drugs, alcohol, pornography and a ton of emotional things tied to these actions. When it came to praying or going to church it was usually when I needed something or when I was dealing with some type of guilt issue or fear but it was always from a selfish place. We are prideful people and we don’t see ourselves as selfish but a simple assessment of our lifestyle will reveal who we serve, “No house hold slave can be the slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t be slaves to both God and money.” – Luke 16:13
