Maybe It’s Time for a Diet
Too many Christians in our world today are obese. Though this may be true from a physical standpoint, I’m talking about a spiritual perspective. In short, they are fat Christians. What does this mean?
Many Christians live an affluent lifestyle. (And if you live in the United States, you are more affluent than most of the rest of the world.) Affluence tends to produce self-sufficiency.
These affluent people are financially comfortable; they’re socially content.
The result is they don’t feel much of a need for God. They don’t rely on their Heavenly Father to give them their daily bread. This means they don’t turn to him to get them through each day. They do it on their own.
This is because they’re fat Christians.
Shallow Faith
These fat Christians aren’t without faith. They did make a decision to give their life to Jesus. They follow him, at least at some base level.
It’s just that their faith is shallow. They rely on the things of this world to provide for them.
Through their job, their bank account, and their affluence they have what they need for the day—and for tomorrow and for the year—maybe even for the rest of their life.
They don’t need God to provide for their daily needs—their daily bread. Not really. They don’t bother to ask, because they don’t see a need to do so. This is despite the fact that Jesus told us to ask God to provide for us our daily needs (Luke 11:3).
Furthermore, these fat Christians haven’t stored up treasures in heaven. Instead, they focus on storing up treasures on earth.
Yet earthly investments don’t last. They’re not reliable. They can depreciate, be destroyed, or be stolen (Matthew 6:19-21). They carry no guarantee.
In contrast, our heavenly investments will last for eternity.
Jesus says that where our treasure is, that’s where our heart will be (Luke 12:34). We should, therefore, set our heart on things that are above (Colossians 3:1).
Build Bigger Barns
One of Jesus’s parables is about a rich man (Luke 12:16-21). He has an abundant crop but no place to store the great harvest. He considers what to do.
He decides to tear down his existing barns and build bigger ones. This will give him enough space to store his surplus grain. It will supply his needs for many years. Then he can take it easy and coast through life, eating, drinking, and being merry.
In short, he can retire.
But God calls him a fool. This is because the man will die that very evening. His surplus grain and retirement plans will mean nothing to him after he’s dead. He’s like a fat Christian.
This will be the case of everyone who selfishly stores up treasures for themselves. In doing so, they are not rich toward God.
Don’t Need a Thing
In his epic revelation, as found in the last book of the Bible, John records the words of Jesus to seven churches. Our Savior gives a harsh rebuke to the church in Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-21).
Specifically, they think they’re rich and have acquired wealth. They don’t need a thing—at lease from a physical standpoint. Yet spiritually, they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).
They are fat Christians.
To these fat followers, Jesus tells them to turn to him for a solution to their spiritual obesity. He counsels them to buy gold from him, which has been refined in fire. Then they will have true wealth.
They should also put on purity like they wear clothes. And they need to treat their eyes so that they can see what truly matters.
He tells them this because he loves them and wants what’s best for them.
Go on a Diet
Do you see a bit of yourself in this discussion? Do you tend to rely on yourself rather than God? If so, you may be a fat Christian. At the very least you’re gaining weight and moving toward spiritual obesity.
The solution is to go on a spiritual diet. Do a detox. Remove substances that are harmful and replace them with what is good.
Eliminate the things of your life that promote self-sufficiency and tend to remove God from your daily living. Stop putting your faith in temporal pursuits that don’t matter. Instead, store up things in heaven that last for eternity.
If we are a fat Christian, may we go on an immediate diet. And if we are gaining weight, may we change our habits and our perspectives to turn our focus toward our Heavenly Father instead of worldly pursuits.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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