When I was younger I, along with many close friends, would wait in eager anticipation and excitedly count down the days until our annual trip to Spring Harvest. Spring Harvest is a yearly christian conference that brings christians together for a week of worship, bible teachings and workshops about the relevance of the Christian faith to everyday life. Having been almost every year of my life, Spring Harvest holds a dear place in my heart and has been immensely important to me; nurturing and developing my faith over the years. Along with the great worship, fun-filled children’s sessions, swimming pool and funfair - each year I would look forward to purchasing a new T-shirt or hoodie from the In Yer Faith stand in the skyline! A favourite of mine sticks in my mind - a blue tank top on which it said, printed among some cartoon fish, Don’t go with the flow.
I started writing a blog post way back at the start of May, when I realised that this “Don’t go with the flow” attitude had somewhat disappeared from my life and I began to wonder if I was too comfortable in the world.
Then the madness of finals hit me. For those who don’t know, Oxford degrees are more often than not determined entirely by a single set of exams sat at the end of your third year. For me that meant seven, 3-hour exams, sat over 8 days at the end of May. This turned into end of year celebrations which then merged into a week volunteering as a TA on a school residential, into holiday bible club planning and then, well, here I am - over 2 months later, still writing the same blog post. I think this simply reiterates my point - it is so easy to get swept along by our culture and become so comfortable in the world that we loose our focus on God.
Despite my best intentions, things kept popping up and “finish my bog post” slid further and further down my to-do list. But It’s funny how persistent God can be when he wants to tell us something.
A couple of weeks ago God spoke to me again on precisely this top through a fantastic sermon I heard at church. Having thought about similar things for a couple of months the sermon was, to me, confirmation that God was trying to tell me something: I need to stop being so comfortable adhering to culture and instead become brave enough to swim against the tide, standing up for Jesus and his plans for me.
In the bible Peter specifically warns us against becoming too comfortable in the world:
“Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” 1 Peter 2: 11-12
It is important to ask ourselves why we so easily fall into following the crowd even when that means going against our christian beliefs. I think there are many many reasons we find ourselves swept along by the world around us, but having reflected on this, I think there are two main reasons applicable to me.
- “Everyone else is doing it, so it’s okay”
So often I find myself taking this attitude, justifying my actions because others around me are doing the same. During my time at university I saw this all around me, as well as in my own life. There were christian students who spent their weekends getting drunk because “everyone else was”; Many of us got caught up in achieving academic success because “everyone around us was” and all too often I found myself skipping quiet time with God to get things done because “everyone else did”. Some behaviours have become so common that we no longer even recognise them - I am sure I can regularly be found gossiping or exaggerating in a conversation and don’t even realise that I am doing it. Over the last few months God has been really challenging me to drop this attitude. Just because everyone else is doing it, does not mean it’s okay.
- We forget who we are trying to impress.
Sometimes I can get so caught up in impressing people around me, trying to please my family and friends, and wanting to feel settled and accepted; that I simply do what I think they want. Whether that means laughing at a joke I don’t really find funny, or keeping quiet on an issue that I know I should stand up for - I find myself adhering to the world’s values and trying to succeed according to it’s standards. The funny thing is that the worlds standards are, in one sense, so much higher than God’s. Yes God demands perfection in order for me to stand in his presence, but by his grace, he sent Jesus to make up for my imperfection. While worldly success such as fame, money and relationships will all one day pass away, living my life for the God of creation means that I am storing up treasures in heaven. I truly believe that this is a much greater reward and therefore am challenged to stop going with the flow simply to please other people and instead take a stand for God.
- “Everyone else is doing it, so it’s okay”
So often I find myself taking this attitude, justifying my actions because others around me are doing the same. During my time at university I saw this all around me, as well as in my own life. There were christian students who spent their weekends getting drunk because “everyone else was”; Many of us got caught up in achieving academic success because “everyone around us was” and all too often I found myself skipping quiet time with God to get things done because “everyone else did”. Some behaviours have become so common that we no longer even recognise them - I am sure I can regularly be found gossiping or exaggerating in a conversation and don’t even realise that I am doing it. Over the last few months God has been really challenging me to drop this attitude. Just because everyone else is doing it, does not mean it’s okay.
- We forget who we are trying to impress.
Sometimes I can get so caught up in impressing people around me, trying to please my family and friends, and wanting to feel settled and accepted; that I simply do what I think they want. Whether that means laughing at a joke I don’t really find funny, or keeping quiet on an issue that I know I should stand up for - I find myself adhering to the world’s values and trying to succeed according to it’s standards. The funny thing is that the worlds standards are, in one sense, so much higher than God’s. Yes God demands perfection in order for me to stand in his presence, but by his grace, he sent Jesus to make up for my imperfection. While worldly success such as fame, money and relationships will all one day pass away, living my life for the God of creation means that I am storing up treasures in heaven. I truly believe that this is a much greater reward and therefore am challenged to stop going with the flow simply to please other people and instead take a stand for God.
From dating and drinking to dressing and thinking (excuse the rhyme!), there are so many signs that we are too comfortable in the world. I challenge you to take some time to reflect on the ways in which God might be calling you to take and stand, go against the flow, be uncomfortable and do things his way. It’s certainly not always easy, but it will be worth it in the end.
If you fancy listening to the sermon (I certainly recommend it!), you can find it here http://www.staldates.org.uk/resources.asp it was called "Courage through the Fire" and was on Daniel 3.
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