It's NOT YOUR show!

Lately, I have been bothered by the show that seems to be going on day after day on my Christian campus: this is a show that I believe, is not only showing at Huntington, but a wide-spread plague taking over many Christian communities and hearts. Christians seem to be making their religion a show, starring the wrong character. You see, if Christian life were a movie, one should be able to watch the entire thing and not even really know the main character's name. They should get to the end of the movie and see every name popping up in the credits being one person: God. However, looking around, too many people, myself included at times, are trying to earn their spot in the closing credits. 

I know I often fight for the glory in the things I do. I am often more so concerned with how a certain task or action is making me look instead of being worried about if God is being reflected. I try to do community service because it looks good, not because I am called to love God's people and to be His hands and feet. I read my Bible because it is what I am supposed to do, not because I want to get closer to God. I want to lessen my complaining, and ranting and certain phrases so that I look to be a better Christian not simply because God doesn't want me to be that way. I have the direction that I want to go in life and expect God to just keep rewriting His plans around what I want to do...I want to have the final say in who the main character of my movie really is. I want the glory of appearing in the opening and ending credits. I want to cast who I want in my life; not to love those who persecute me. I just want to write my own script, not follow the one that has been set out for me. 

Other than trying to earn a place in their own movie, it seems like too many Christians are concerned with becoming the top earning actress, the most loved by the world, the award winning actor....they are trying to top their teammates: always trying to one-up the next person in line. Christianity is not a competition, Christianity is a partnership, not only between God and HIS followers, but each of HIS followers. 
 
This week alone I have heard people competing over who has the better Bible, who had the better praise and worship experience, who is the "most Godliest", and so many more. First of all, it doesn't matter what Bible someone uses; each person should get the Bible that they understand. Having a closer translation Bible does absolutely no good when one does not read it or understand it. There is no such thing as being a better worshiper either....God connects with each of us in a different way, some people really feel Him during worship and others experience Him in the simple sounds of nature. It does not say anywhere in the Bible that people have to go to church every Sunday; God would rather have the people who want to be at church be there than have everyone feel like they have an obligation to be at church. Church is important, but nobody is going to Hell for skipping one Sunday. Christianity is not supposed to be a competition of who can get the most awards or who can come across as the better Christian....it is a goal of winning hearts; which will happen more through truth.

Those are just my accumulated thoughts for the week. I am really trying to work on each of these things in my own life...I am giving up the credits to my movie and giving up the dream of being the best. Christians are simply called to be the people looking in the mirror...not who is being reflected in the mirror.

<3 D