Why Christians fail …

There are all kinds of people who walk into a gym, but for the sake of discussion, let’s narrow these people into two groups: those who are fit, and those who are not fit.

Those who are not fit very often harbor the misconception that the others come often and confidently to the gym because they are fit. The truth of the matter is, usually the people in the gym who are fit are fit because they’re in the gym!

These fit members have faced head-on the inconvenience, difficulty, and sometimes even the pain of persistent, consistent exercise in order to become fit. They keep coming to the gym at all hours of the day and night in order to stay fit.

Those who are not fit and show up at the gym hear what they need to do and often respond with that infamous little phrase, “Yes, but …”

When “Yes, but …” is the initial response to truth, a rejection of that truth is often what follows. “Yes, but …” are the common words of the rebellious spirit.

And that’s why Christians fail.

Like the people going to the gym, you have spiritually mature Christians, and the other group is comprised of either immature Christians or yet-unbelieving seekers. The spiritually mature are in the church, “working out” spiritually with discipline and diligence, which is why they are spiritually mature.

The immature and seekers hear the truth and all too often respond with, “Yes, but …” The complete sentence of their response is often, “Yes, but that’s easier said than done.”

Here’s a good response to that attitude: “So what?!”

Now I don’t mean that flippantly, or insensitively, but whether the truth is hard, easy, or something in-between is completely irrelevant. What matters is the application of the truth!

Seriously, who cares if it’s hard or easy? Who cares if it’s a breeze, a struggle, a challenge, or a test? So long as you have the truth to get you through life to the glory of God, the degree of difficulty isn’t the issue. Making it through is.

Our “Yes, but …” response is often made because we not only dislike the difficult, but disdain it enough to reject it at least long enough for a time of detour that creates huge regrets. We’re demanding enough of our comforts to try everything under the sun other than the truth of God’s Word in order to avoid difficulty, only to result in bringing upon ourselves the failure of not yielding to God’s truth initially.

Some of the immature have learned they benefit by following the truth, but develop the bad habit of griping about it loud and long before submitting to it. While they may eventually reap the reward of yielding to Truth, they make their own lives unnecessarily more miserable with their poor attitudes toward the demands of Truth.

It’s one thing to hear God’s truth, not necessarily like the cost, but respond with, “Not my will Lord, but Your will be done.” Kind of like Jesus, who looked at the cross that loomed ahead and prayed for another way, but more than anything else, wanted the will of the Father to be done.

At any cost.

And it was costly.

Less whining about, and less wrestling with, the truth, and a greater immediate embracing of it, will result in a very real improvement of your life. At least within your own attitude.

How do you respond to God’s truth: “Yes, but …” or “Not my will, Lord, but Your will be done”?

Scotty