Have you made a thorough visit in your house
lately? Kind a a surprising question to you. When was the last
time you looked at and checked places in your house like the back of your
refrigerator or wooden or steel cabinets, or spot like under your bed?
I still remember when I was young, I was helping my mother cleaning the
house. Everyday I do sweep the floor and dust the furniture.
But everyday I find the same substance and materials: dust and dustballs.
How they got there everyday, I was not very sure. There was one thing
I was so sure about: I was expected to keep up the discipline of
wiping the dust and dustballs.
To be sure, we also find dustballs in our private world.
What’s going to happen in our house will exactly happen in our private
worlds when we ignore the dust and the dustballs. We need to keep
up in the discipline of cleaning our hearts on a daily basis. The
key to keep our private world in order is by inviting Christ’s control
over our lives on a daily, moment by moment basis. Let us not rely on the
commitment we have made yesterday. We must commit and take our lives
under Christ’s control on a day to day basis. This is the best way
not to experience relapse in our spiritual walk.When we speak of the word
order, we don’t mean the quantity. When you are asked how’s your
quiet time, please don’t give an answer in terms of hours, systems, and
techniques. What is more significant in our devotional time is the
quality of what we are doing. We always have that tendency to measure
success in terms of programs, meetings, experiences, relationships, busyness,
and involvement. What we need to ask is not how many programs or
what programs but what kind of programs and so on. When we focus our attention
on the QUANTITY instead of QUALITY, it is not far that we’ll experience
fatigue, disillusionment, failure and defeat. Because we focus on
the external output, in terms of what can be measured--we will appear to
be good people but very, very tired! Our public worlds look so good
but our private, inner world is screaming for our attention and action.
Listen to this premise: A private world that
is in order is guided by good motivation. Let’s elaborate what we
mean by good motivation by distinguishing a driven and a called person.
I. Distinction Between A Called And A Driven Person
Our public life, that is what people see, must be governed by
our private, inner or spiritual world that is, the heart where Christ is
Lord and the Holy Spirit is guide. This is the only possible way
for a real change to happen: inside out! But please understand
that our private world would be in order only if it is guided by good motivation.
For the purpose of our discussion, let’s call good motivation or those
who have right motives CALLED PEOPLE and those who have poor motivation
or those possess wrong motive DRIVEN PEOPLE. Please understand that
we’re not distinguishing here between what is morally right or wrong.
We’re not saying that driven people are immoral people and those who are
CALLED are moral people. Driven people are not necessarily bad and
immoral. Actually they often make great contributions; they are good
organizers; they usually provide ministry opportunities; they are very
strategic-minded. However, there is a tremendous problem in their
motivation--they are driven, not called. Their public life appears
in good shape but their private world crumbles down.
To distinguish a called and a driven person, let’s see and identify
the qualities of a driven person. How to know whether we are driven
or called.
•A driven person is most often gratified only by accomplishment
and is preoccupied with the symbols of accomplishment. A driven person
is very satisfied when he accomplishes a task or work. He sees life
and defines success in terms of results and what has been produced.
But this kind of person very seldom asks and checks his motives why he
wants to accomplish things. When he got the courage to check his
motive, he says a lot of good things but actually, it is for the satisfaction
of oneself. He gets easily irritated when things are not doing well
not because he’s concern about the task but because of what people will
think about him. All he’s concern about is arrival; the trip means
nothing. This kind of person very seldom checks whether he got more
mature in his spiritual walk with Christ or not; whether it helped in the
overall goal of the group; whether it made an impact on the lives of others
or not; whether the task is completed or not.
•A driven person tend to have a limited regard for integrity.
Because a driven person is so preoccupied with accomplishments or results,
he has little time to ask if his private, inner world is keeping
up with his public world that which can be seen. This kind of person will
not hesitate to resort to deceitful acts and manners like lying, manipulating
and all kinds of compromising acts just to accomplish something.
•A driven person has the tendency to be highly competitive. A
driven person believes and feels that he cannot afford to lose. He
must win in order to look good for others. He does not consider the feelings
of others, what other thinks and could suggest for he looks at everybody
as competitors. Winning at all cost preoccupies all his undertakings.
He is willing to pay a high price even at the expense of his own soul just
for one reason: To win and to be highly competitive.
II. Biblical Example of A Driven Person:
Saul
We have an example of a driven man in the Old Testament.
He possessed the qualities of a driven man we’ve just discussed.
His name is Saul. In I Samuel 9:1-2, we are told about the three
qualities of Saul’s public life--a man of standing (wealthy), an impressive
young man (handsome), taller than any of the others (height/well-developed
body). He had an incomparable public world. At the beginning,
his private world was in order for he will not be chosen by the Lord unless
it was in order. He was anointed to be leader (9:16ff). But how Saul
kept his private world in order is another issue.
In I Samuel 13:9-10, we are told that Saul offered up the burnt
offering; a task which was not in his own disposal. At that point
of time, King Saul was already enjoying many accomplishment that were successful.
He had seen no limit as to what He can and should do. King Saul became
so preoccupied with works, activities, and planning and accomplishing that
he didn’t find time pondering his needs for others (he should have waited
for Samuel), pondering about this role in the kingdom of the Living God
(he was not a prophet) pondering the values he should have cultivated (he
should have been very patient, willing to wait). The characteristics
of a driven man began to manifest.
In I Samuel 14, Saul became a very busy man. He saw worlds
to be conquered. He began focusing so much on the public life at
the expense of the inner life. His life was eaten up by what is popular,
by what is measurable, successful. Focusing away form his private
world, he became a driven person, gratified only by accomplishments and
symbols of accomplishments.
In I Samuel 15, another characteristic of a driven man did appear.
He had a limited regard for integrity. King Saul did not obey the
Lord’s instruction through Samuel concerning the complete destruction of
the Amalekites. We have found King Saul making up “good excuses”
why they spared the best of the sheep and cattle. His excuse sounded like
very spiritual: they spared them to sacrifice to the Lord God. He
started manufacturing a lie hoping the real motive will not surface.
Another characteristic of a driven man is seen in I Samuel 18.
King Saul, as a driven man, started to be highly competitive. We
have heard the account when King Saul got very jealous to David.
Let’s read
I Samuel 18:6-9.
In spite of our busyness and the crawling demands of the urgent,
our outer world, let’s not forget cleaning up and strengthening up the
private world. We just don’t know. We just don’t know where
we will be led in case we forget to focus and bring order to our private
world.
III. Qualities of A Called Person: John the Baptizer
We do have an illustration of a called person in the pages of the New Testament. His name is John the Baptizer. It is interesting to recall how John behaved and reacted when he learned that his heavenly assignment was coming into conclusion. John the Baptizer was a good leader and preacher. He was able to draw the attention of the crowds. Some became his disciples. Jesus came. People, even John’s disciples, had turned to Jesus. His rating of popularity declined based on the latest survey. He was travelling the roads of being unnoticed and unappreciated. But please listen to words of a called man--John 3:27-30. What does this tell us? Called people understand stewardship. John knew that the crowd who listened to him and followed him was not his. As a called person, he was willing to let go someone or something for the rightful owner. As a called person, he was not highly competitive. He could have been tempted by some of his disciples that there is something Messiah-like about him. But he did not buy the idea. As a called person, he knew exactly who he was , his role, his limitations. He did not look at these limitations as weaknesses but opportunities to demonstrate that Christ is all and all. As a called person, he knew his sense of purpose. As the best friend of the bridegroom (John 3:29), he knew that his purpose was to make sure that all attention was given to the bridegroom. He forfeited his role as the best man and will even be considered a fool once he started to draw attention to himself. When the crowd listened and followed Jesus Christ, he knew his life and purpose are fulfilled. Though the people followed our Lord Jesus Christ, he did not lose anything.
Conclusion: Release from the golden
cage. Why a cage? We would like to compare our lives as if
we’re in a cage because this is exactly what we feel: we’re trapped!
No matter how much we try to change things and our environment, there’s
still crying of the heart that can’t be stopped by things that can be measured,
seen, and touched. Let me offer you a good deal: you will live
in a golden cage--a cage made of gold! It’s gold and you won’t let
it go. You feel so much secured inside but all it gives is false
hope and false promise. That gold (success, popularity, numbers, accomplishment)
does not meet the needs of the aching inner world. The good news
is the Lord is offering something good in your private world that is, to
be released from your golden cage!