Slaying Giants

People have often asked me why I act so "driven" at times. The way I think about life has always been wrapped up in living the way that I believe is right. In other words, doing things the only way I know how as opposed to doing them the way others would ask me to do them because that is generally what is accepted or the normal way of acting.

When I think of the temptations to be just like the people around me, I have to consider the temptations to come from both Christians and non-Christians alike. Those temptations - to me - are such things as a good job, plenty of money, and the right social esteem. This list can go on and on, but the bottom line is security or, as I think of it, finding my place in the world and not going beyond that place.

Living in suburban America, this temptation is all around me. I believe "the burbs" get the bad reputation that they have largely because of this issue. The chase after the American Dream of money and - ultimately - security has produced the sterile neighborhood that I, and many like me, live in. We have become so preoccupied with our climb up the corporate ladder that we forget about such things as faith or community or simple freedom to live life in an exciting, inspired fashion.

It may seem like a strange leap, but I think that we are tempted to chase security much the way the Israelites did in the time of their slavery in Egypt. In that story, the people groaned and cried out to God to deliver them from their slavery. I believe we see something similar today - a desire for freedom - in the movement and popularity of home-based businesses. As soon as the people of Israel left Egypt and tasted that freedom, though, thus understanding its cost, they complained to Moses, asking him why God would bring them into the desert to die. Today, we consider the cost in terms of healthcare plans or 401(k)'s or other benefits that we receive from our corporations to continue to sell our time - our lives - to their goals.

During the time the Israelites wandered in the desert, God wanted them to trust him. He wanted them to enter the promised land, but they were afraid of the "giants" that inhabited the land and did not believe that God would take care to overcome their enemies, their challenge to the destiny given to them by God.

What difference, then, does it make that I believe that God will go before me to slay these giants? It has everything to do with me being willing to take risks for what I believe God has purposed for his people and for my life. Certainly, I don't mean that I or anyone else should be fools, nor do I think that we should do anything without prayer and counting the cost. However, I believe that Christianity needs more Joshuas and Calebs that would be willing to enter the promised land and be willing to do it under the risk of the shorter corporate ladder, health insurance, or precious security.

As I talked about this issue with the Whittington's last night, I mentioned a story that I recently heard from John Piper who discusses a couple, retired, who now live on the beach shore in Florida with a nice boat and a nice home. They were said to have been spending the twilight of their years developing a collection of sea shells. He contrasted this to another story of two women in South America, also retired, 80+ years old, whose brakes had gone out as they were going from one place to another delivering the Gospel of the Christ. They flew off the cliff and crashed at the bottom of the rivine, obviously killing both women. The question is: Which of these two stories is the tragedy? I know that I cannot begin to fully understand either of these situations and I am probably over-romanticizing the latter. However, I know which of these stories inspires me and on which end of the spectrum that I desire to land when the final record is written in the book of my life.