The Normal Life

Our moral theorists seem never content with the normal. Why must it always be a contest between fornication, obesity and laziness, and celibacy, fasting and hard labor? ~Martin H. Fischer

We live in a culture of extremes. We have extreme sports, extreme cage fighting – we even have extreme eating contests. And even those events which don’t use the “extreme” label, often go to great extremes. We have pro wrestling, where grown men throw each other off of ladders and beat each other with chairs for entertainment. A typical Nascar race will see the drivers consume 6,000 gallons (22,712 litres) of race fuel. At a cost of $9.71 per gallon, the race burns over $58,000 in fuel alone! Basketball sneakers can cost over $200 a pair, and modern sedans make more horsepower than most of the muscle cars from the 1960s.

This focus on extremes stems from a culture that is always trying to experience something fresh and different. With the magnitude of media only a mouse-click away, everyone is competing for views, clicks, and business. And consumers get tired of the same old entertainment, products, and services. We want more.

Unfortunately, this attitude sometimes spills over into our Christian life. Suddenly, being a Christian isn’t enough. A person has to be an evangelist on TV, or the pastor of a huge church, or be a missionary, or even “get on fire for Christ” in order to be taken seriously. It has to be extreme. And yet, so many of us Christians are not called to this. Some are called to go to the same old boring, low paying job day after day in order to put diapers on the baby. Some of us are called to stay home with an ailing parent. Some of us are called to drive busses, and staff retail clothiers, and clean hotel bathrooms. Sometimes, we can get so caught up with being “extreme” that we think God can’t use us in the place we are right now.

This was one of the problems that confronted the Reformers. At the time, the church taught that only professional clergy could really serve God. Only they were “extreme” enough. To really be a good Christian, a person had to become a monk, or priest, or something like that. The “average pew sitter” was left out. While that kind of thing is rarely taught today, sometimes it is implied by the way we live our lives. Everyone wants to hear the testimony of the former Hell’s Angel contract assassin that is now a missionary to Bhutan with a nice hair cut, a beautiful godly wife, and 12 kids. But no one really wants to hear about the 30-something single mom whose life is a whirlwind of work, daycare, and the occasionally rushed church potluck.

But the truth is, God has called all of us, and has given us both the gifts and opportunities to love him and our neighbor, right where we are at. Notice what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” (1 Thess. 1:11 NIV). Paul urges these Christ followers to follow the Great Commandment by loving others the way Christ loved us. But he doesn’t tell them that this requires some kind of extreme vocation – in fact, just the opposite.

“And to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you.” (1 Thess. 4:11).

Notice that he doesn’t tell the church that they have to do or be something special – God makes our every work special when we do good deeds prompted by faith. We can love God and love our neighbor right where we are at, by leading quiet lives, minding our business, and working hard. In fact, Paul had to warn some believers not to be overzealous about overturning the unjust world order of the Roman empire.

“Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.” (1 Cor. 7:24 NIV)

God loves you and wants to use you right where you are! Who knows – you might be the only source of God’s love for that obnoxious cashier that you work with every day. The point is that you should never think God can’t use you because you aren’t special. God’s plan is to shower you will all the gifts he can (James 1:17, Eph. 1:3), including the gift to share His love and grace right where you are at. Remember, you have the same Holy Spirit that God gave Paul and the apostles! So let your light shine, brothers and sisters, and don’t wait for God to call you to something extreme to start serving Him.