MY FAITH IS TOO SHALLOW
Posted by Jud Wilhite:
Reading Augustine’s fifth century classic “City of God” just exaggerates how shallow my faith can be. In the first part of the book he describes Christians being killed, tortured and raped during the fall of Rome and addresses non-Christians who argued that this proves the Christian God is powerless.
Augustine systematically shows the foolishness of the argument, and as he does so he speaks of a Christian who does not “grieve if deprived in life of those possessions which he would soon have to leave behind at his death.”
Many were tortured to determine where they might have hid their gold or silver, but faithful Christians did not hope in money. They rejoiced in God even in their horrible situation.
Some of these believers starved to death and others were destroyed by horrible disease. Yet they remained steadfast in that there allegiance to God.
Augustine writes, “Death is not to be regarded as a disaster, when it follows on a good life, for the only thing that makes death an evil is what comes after death. Those who must inevitably die ought not to worry overmuch about what accident will cause their death, but about their destination after dying. Christians know that the death of a poor religious man, licked by the tongues of dogs, is far better than the death of a godless rich man, dressed in purple and linen. Why then should those who have lived well be dismayed by the terror of death in any form?”
Spending time in the City of God, I find myself asking forgiveness for my shallow clinging to the allusion of control in my life. I pray for the strength and courage of those in previous times. They lived with a profound awareness of life’s fragility and uncertainty that led to greater dependence and more radical faith. Suffering and even death was not something to fear, but rather an opportunity to bring glory to God.
Ever feel like your faith doesn’t stand up to the guts and courage of believers in previous times?
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All the time. I find myself getting offended when someone will exclude me from something simply because I’m Christian and then think “geez…this is nothing compared to what (insert bold Christian here) had to face.”
“Death is not to be regarded as a disaster, when it follows on a good life” – that's the kicker isn't it? Knowing whose standard we ought to use in defining a good life. I know exactly how you are feeling because I know I bought for a long time the idea that if I'm a good Christian bad things don't happen to me. But I'm unlearning that lie and in the process discovering a new depth to my faith that wasn't there before. Thank you for your honesty here. This was a great post.
Jud said: “Ever feel like your faith doesn’t stand up to the guts and courage of believers in previous times?”
After reading City of God, I feel like we’re all Pillsbury Doughboy Christians complete with that stupid cooing laugh.
Please Lord, kill my love of comfort. Turn my poppin’ fresh faith into 12 grain goodness.
awesome…how do you like the new commenting system?
I'm such a whiney-butt Christian! I often wonder if I could handle life as a Christian of a previous era–or for that matter, of much of the rest of the world today. Thanks for the reminder that my “problems” are for the most part light and petty.
A careful reading of Paul's letters and Acts reveals ordinary people living extraordinary lives – people being ostracized, tortured, killed, all because of their faith in God and in Christ Jesus as the Messiah. Several years ago, it was popular for Christians to exclaim that they'd die for their faith – but in reality I wonder how many would withstand being ostracized, tortured, or even killed for their faith without denying the Christ in favor of wealth, position, or family.
Even Peter denied Christ Jesus in the final hours of Jesus's death. Would Jud or Mike stand by their beliefs in the face of their wives or children or other family members being tortured or killed if they didn't? Would *I*? I would pray that something like this would never happen to any of us – but the fact of the matter is, there are people in a dozen different countries around the world who are suffering this exact same fate, and I have to wonder if their faith is by far stronger than any of us here in this country who have never had to withstand such severe trials of our faith.
It's relatively easy to stick by one's beliefs when one is a well-respected member or leader in the Christian community, with plenty of money in the bank, a nice big house to live in, a steady and secure job, and a loving family – but what happens if all those things were taken away? Would we stand for what we believe in, or crumble under the promise of even a shadow of what we once had at the pinnacle of our worldly success? Would we put our families or ourselves ahead of God? Everyone would like to proclaim in a loud and firm voice, “I would *never* give in!” but the truth is, none of us would really know unless faced with that situation. I would pray for God's grace and strength for anyone having to undergo such terrible circumstances…
I just saw this on a friend's web page, thought it was related – and interesting:
Weekly thought for inner reflection and meditation.. Imagine yourself face-to-face with Jesus. You are self-possessed, well-mannered, surrounded by your accomplishments. Imagine Jesus looking into your eyes so that you know the depth of his love for you. Now imagine him asking you to give up something that is very precious to you. You cringe. “O, Lord, not that!” you exclaim. What is your “not that”?
Still trying to get a handle on it to be honest. Don't hate so I guess that's a good thing
its become very clear to me after reading this that my faith is WAY too small and shallow. great post!
either that or @judwilhite needs to start reading some smaller books
Great thoughts everyone. This is part of the reason it is so healthy to read books by dead people! They weren't perfect, but they defiantly challenge us in ways we aren't used to being challenged. Dead peeps also wrote smaller books
Good stuff Jim! Thank you!
I think my faith is schizophrenic: a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements. I often am willing to do the big things but can't handle the small daily things.
I know *exactly* what you mean … could I stand up in front of 10,000 people and give a speech or preach a sermon? You betcha! But a small thing like pray every morning before I get out of bed, or not snap at my boss occasionally when he asks me to do something unreasonable, or be selfish when no one's looking … those are the harder things! It seems as if the hardest things in life are the little things … maybe that's why Jesus said in Luke 16:10 that “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
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