What's In It For Me? Part 1

About 8 years ago I found myself believing that God owed me some blessings. I went to church, taught Sunday School, did my devotions. Then my world crashed and I had a very hard reality check. I believe that God allowed a number of personal heartaches into my life so that, out of His love and mercy, He could build a new foundation built on Christ and His truth. A lot of what I was "doing" was for my own edification and because I wanted to have a "blessed" life. When God took a sledge hammer to that foundation I was confused and challenged. I was confused about things I had been taught and beliefs I believed. This was a time that I needed to understand who God really was and what the Christian life was really about.

Don't ask me what Bible I had been reading but I thought verses like, "I promise you a rose garden," "Thou shall not suffer trials," and "No tribulation shall come near you or those you love" were really in there! Somewhere along the way I picked up faulty thinking and lies. In Malachi 3:13 the people in that day had picked up similar faulty thinking. They, too, wanted to know what profit there was in serving God. They thought their service was useless and that they did not benefit enough from their hard work. In other words, they asked "What's in this for me?" They became focused on themselves rather than dying to themselves. They watched how those who were prideful and wicked seemed to gain more than they did. They lost sight of God, they lost their fear of God and they began to complain. Where had all the blessings gone?

As you consider your circumstances, what is your attitude? Are you thinking you don't deserve to be in the position you are? Do you think that you deserve more or better? Do you stand in the middle of your living room, shaking a fist at God and ask why He allowed ______? I did. Then God asked me to choose to trust Him and know Him for who He really is. I had to give up on my faulty thinking and dig for truth and begin to trust in the Jesus of the Bible, not the one I had made up or distorted in my head.

There is a huge difference between knowing Jesus Christ and making Him up as you go along. Is He Lord and Savior or in the same realm as Santa Claus and the tooth fairy? Are the words "give me" and "I want" staples in your vocabulary? Do you serve Him, love Him, and follow Him only for the blessings or regardless of the blessings?

Kathy Withers

Kathy Serves in Guest Services and is married to her husband, Dave. They have two adult children, Michael and Kerri.