Part 2
Last week we discussed how there is simply no such thing as the “right” church. This week, I want to delve a little deeper into this discussion of our tendency to treat church as just another commodity in our consumer society.
The second reason why we shouldn't view our church experience through this lens is that our feelings should not be our spiritual guides.
Do our feelings and opinions matter? Of course, but they shouldn’t be the only thing we think about when it comes to our church experience. And if you’re church shoppingthen you’re most likely thinking about yourchecklist of what you need in your church.
To put it simply: you’re relying on your heart to tell you how to live your spiritual life. And your feelings don’t matter more than God’s plan for you or His church.
The Bible describes the heart as being “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). Now this isn’t the only description of the heart in the Bible, but through my research I found that most positive descriptions of the heart are rooted in God’s role in our hearts. The negative descriptions? God hardening someone’s heart or people relying on their own hearts at the exclusion of God.
So what does this all tell us about where we place our faith? Well, if we’re relying on our hearts to lead the way in our decision making – especially in our spiritual lives – we are not trusting God. Instead, we are getting caught up in our desires, fears, and comfort. We aren’t giving God a chance to settle us, guide us, and love us through our discomfort. And discomfort is oftena tool God uses to help us grow out of our self-imposed boundaries.
That’s a hard truth, isn't it? But it’s also a beautiful truth, because it’s absolutely something we can change! We can change our tendency to rely solely on our feelings and on ourselves by working on our relationship with God and trusting Him.
Rachel blogs at Choose Happy, and spends the majority of her free time chasing a 2 year old. She was not raised in a religious home, and was an atheist before God found her and made her His.
Wowww! Could not agree more! I was a church shopper and hopper for years. One day God showed me how selfish I was being, then of course I ultimately ended up at the right church. This is so true, you have a lot of wisdom and a way of making this very easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true! The heart can so easily be changed through circumstances and be affected by our situations. But what God wants never changes and that's what we should be seeking out in a church. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteWow, I never looked at it this way before. You make such a good point. It is so easy to let your feelings take over. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOlivia (www.vickiandlivi.com)
Agreed. Most Christians find the sect that best matches best with their subjective personal opinions. If this is the wrong approach, can you propose an objective criteria people use to identify the correct church? When you feel that God is telling you something, how do you know it's not just your personal feelings?
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