Just Getting By

Are we becoming a society that is satisfied with just getting by? Sometimes I wonder. Except where money and material possessions are concerned, I think it might be true.

I know when I taught, too many students seemed to have this attitude. They didn't really care about how much they learned or how well they did - as long as they didn't fail the course. When I recently picked up some classes at a nearby university, just for the love of learning, that seemed to be the case with many college students, too. I've often said that education is an area where people want to be cheated. They like easy and good grades over challenging and learning. They don't want to get their money's worth.

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... (Colossians 3:23).

A lot of workers seemed to have absorbed this attitude. They want to take home a good paycheck, but they don't want to do much to earn it. I've always found that the more effort I pour into something, the more satisfaction I get from it, and the better I like it. If I put forth little effort, I don't feel good about it.

This is also true with our churches and our faith. Do you find yourself just going through the motions of church? Do you cringe at the thoughts of someone asking you to take a leadership role, teach a Sunday school class or Bible study, or take part in some committee or project? If God calls you to do something, He wants you to rely on Him and not yourself, and He doesn't call anyone that He doesn't give them what they need. Look at Moses. He tried to tell God He wasn't equipped to go to Pharaoh and ask him to free the Israelites. He really felt reluctant at first, but look at what great and mighty things God did through him. Are you missing out on things God wants to do with you? Does your spiritual life seem dry and dusty? I've met people who have told me they've been saved; they've done what they needed to in order to go to heaven when they die, so they don't need to do anything else. I wonder. James did, too.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:20).

God didn't make us to just get by. He wants us to live a committed, surrendered, joyous, and rewarding life, close to him and showered with His blessings. Are you living the abundant life God's planned for you, or are you just getting by? This is your one life on earth; make it count.

...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

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