Five Steps to Failure in the Christian Life

Across the course of the past 40 years, I have spent a lot of time with Christians, people of all ages from all walks of life who profess an allegiance to Jesus Christ. Much of this time has been spent in training, discipling, mentoring, teaching, and counseling them. As a result of all this time investment, I have become convinced that many Christians are out to fail. Why do I say this? As I have observed the lives of those who claim to be Christ-followers, I have seen them take the steps necessary to fail at what they profess to be! Therefore, I must conclude that they must desire to fail. Why would anyone seem to intentionally follow the path of failure if it something they do not desire? With this in mind, beginning with today's post, I want to detail what I consider to be FIVE STEPS TO FAILURE in the Christian life. So ... if you are one of those whom I talked about above and want to fail, then read on and be sure that you understand and then put into practice these five essential steps. Today, the first ... back next week with the rest.

Step #1 - Diminish the Bible's importance in your life. 

If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and John 17:17 mean anything at all ... then you had better be sure you stay as far away from the Bible as possible.Here are two practical suggestions to do just that:

1. Freely admit that you are too busy for daily interaction with the Bible.  Now if your life is anything like mine ... this should not be hard. There's the kids (or in my case, grand kids) to care for, doctor and dentist appointments to keep, shopping runs to make, friends to facebook, lawns to mow (or driveways to shovel ... depending on the season), meals to prepare, houses to clean, clothes to launder, etc., etc., etc. ... and all this on top of that thing called "a job!" Add our favorite TV shows to watch or the Internet to cruise ... and life is downright BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! So ... just admit (and do so guilt-free) ... "I am too busy to spend time in the Bible!"

2. When you do read the Bible, be selective in what you choose to obey.  To achieve this, ask the following questions of each and every command you happen to come across in Scripture:

- Will obeying this command cause me to be inconvenienced?  If the answer to this is YES, then by all means don't obey! The last thing you want is to experience inconvenience of any kind in your life. Life in America is meant to be comfortable and convenient - it's the American way!

- Will obeying this command cramp my style in any way?  We all have our rights. And one of our rights is to be happy! And if you believe obeying this command will keep you from getting the happiness that you are entitled to, then forget it. You have your agenda (your happiness above all)... stick to it!

- If I obey this command, will I go against the flow of society? Really, the last thing you want to do is stand out like a sore thumb among your friends, neighbors, co-workers and class mates! Don't be odd. Seek to fit in at all costs!

So this is the first step toward failure in your walk with God. And it very well may be the biggest! So if your goal is to fail at this thing we call "the Christian Life", then make sure that you do all you can to diminish the importance of the Bible in your life!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj