I strongly recommend being zealous. If I might share a little bit of ‘tough love’ now. As someone who was born in the USA and grew up here, I personally think that the USA has overall been one of the most prosperous countries since the end World War II. Many enjoyed that prosperity, but I feel like there is a downside to it as well. A lot of people in the USA are still self-disciplined, tough, and hard-working, but not as much as they used to be in the more distant past because they didn’t have to be in order to survive. I think that in the more distant past, people in the USA had to be very hard-working and disciplined just to survive whereas now it’s usually mostly to get what they want. I think this is part of the reason why Christians in the USA today are usually not nearly as zealous, self-disciplined, and hard working in their Christian faith lives as they used to be generations ago. Since they are less likely to be that way in their secular lives they are also less likely to be that way in their spiritual lives. (However, I do think the post World War II generations in the USA do tend to have some advantages over their predecessors).
I think it’s also that culture here in the USA has changed and there is much more of an emphasis on ‘sensual selfish gratification’ and less of an emphasis on spiritual life. I think many Christians in the USA have grown up in this situation, and having never seen Christians in some other countries where it’s more common for Christians to be very zealous, having never seen the USA in the past where Christians were very zealous, many just take it for granted that Christian life is occasional, optional, lukewarm, and we don’t have to put that much heart, time or effort into it. Many hardly read the Bible, hardly pray, and don’t go to Christian meetings often so they don’t experience much of God’s power working in their lives and don’t have enough victory and success. The more zeal, faith, and obedience we have, the more power we can experience. The more power we experience the more victorious and joyful we are going to be. I can imagine the following conversation between a Christian and a zealous Pastor:
Christian: “Pastor, why isn’t my spiritual life working?”
Zealous Pastor: “It will, but put more effort into it.”
Christian: “I thought this lukewarm way is how Christians are meant to be?”
Zealous Pastor: “If you want more power, a closer relationship with God, more Bible knowledge, and everything else God can give you, then put more into your spiritual life.”
Some Christians try to respond to words like that by saying something like, “We should not try to replace our love for God, intimacy with God, and time in God’s presence with works and zeal.” And I would say, “No one loved God the Father more than Jesus, but Jesus was zealously doing the works that God the Father wanted Him to because He loved the Father and loved people.” We can both work hard for God and also love God as we do. Not sit in a chair all day and say, ‘I love you’ while people in the world are suffering and perishing. Is that really God’s will? Is that how God wants us to love? But I also know from experience that we need to learn to enjoy our spiritual lives or we are likely to get tired of it or feel like doing something else because that is just human nature and self-discipline is not enough to keep most people going. It’s natural to enjoy our spiritual lives when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, when we experience God regularly, when we are successful, and when we get used to living that way.
There are still Churches in the USA that are zealous and where God works powerfully, but if you ask me, not as many as in the past. I think the Christian movement is stronger elsewhere now. I want it to be strong in the USA and everywhere else. So, in this online Church, we may start slow and easy and comfortably, but soon we will be able to enjoy studying God’s words, praying, and attending meetings and helping others more and more so we experience God’s power more fully. Of course, we will still have time for hobbies, for our jobs, for our families, for our friends and other good things God gave us.
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