Religious or Righteous?
Note: Email readers scroll down to Section Two.
Religious or Righteous?
In the great wilderness of Washington's western frontier an employment ad for lumberjacks was posted in the local newspaper:
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LUMBERJACK?
_________
*We pay by the tree*
We're looking for one more man to
complete our crew. On-the-job interviews will
be held onMonday. The person who cuts the most
trees will be ensured employment. May the best man win.
Come to the Olympic Forest at 6 a.m.
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Only two men arrived at the forest for the potential job position on Monday morning. The first man that arrived had been a lumberjack almost his entire life. Not only was he an experienced jack, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were also lumberjacks by trade. The man arrived and he sure looked the part; he had a long scruffy beard that reached down to his chest, a checkered red shirt, and he toted his very own axe. Truly this man was an authentic lumberjack.
The other fellow that arrived for the on-the-job interview had never cut down a tree in his life; in fact, it is doubtful that he had ever touched an axe. He was simply thumbing through the job classifieds in the paper and knew that he needed a job. When he showed up at the forest for the interview he even had to borrow an axe from the foreman. The man who had the previous lumberjacking experience looked over at his competition and laughed within himself. He knew he had this position all but wrapped up. The second man really wasn't trying to fool anyone because he showed up looking like a business class executive ready to push paper-not cut it down. Everyone looking on at the two men knew that there was no way in God's green forest that the second man had a chance. Nevertheless, the two men set out into the thick forest to pick their chopping spots for the day.
The former lumberjack set out almost immediately and found his location that was rich in large oak trees. He began chipping away the bark on a tree while the second man simply moved further into the forest in search of the best area. By the time the second man found his spot the first man had already cut down a tree.
Half the day had gone by and the former lumberjack noticed something very unusual. Every hour the other man would take ten-minute breaks. He momentarily wondered at this oddness but then used it to his advantage. Every time the second man took a break the lumberjack would work even harder to get ahead and gain a secure lead. He now knew that there was no way he could be beat.
When the sun finally slid behind the rugged landscape of the beautiful mountainside the foreman of the company came by to count the total number of trees that each man had cut down throughout the day. The former lumberjack stood by proudly, chest pumped up with a pompous smile, while the foreman yelled out, "Twenty-five!" He had cut down a whopping twenty-five trees.
Next, the foreman came to the second man. He counted the total number of trees, paused for a moment, and gathered his composure in a state of disbelief. He looked down at the two applicants waiting anxiously at the bottom of the hill for his response. He looked directly in the eyes of the former lumberjack and muttered the word, "Forty." The second man had cut down an astonishing forty trees. He had cut down fifteen more trees than the self-professing lumberjack.
The former lumberjack now looked timid, tired and terribly confused. "How could this be?" the former lumberjack asked. "You must have cheated-you took breaks all day long!" He was now agitated and throwing unsubstantiated insults at the other man. The second man turned to him and simply stated,...
Section Two
"Some suppose breaks as a resting time-others hone their tools." The former business man now turned lumberjack, had shared his big secret. During those ten-minute breaks he was sharpening his axe.
Sometimes Christians, like this self-professing lumberjack in the above story, are extremely good at looking the part. We have so many years of experience in OUR field that we believe that we have our place in heaven "all but wrapped up." Sadly, it takes someone who has very little, if any, experience to come along and awaken us to the proper priorities that we once held very dear. This is similar to the story of Mary and Martha in Luke chapter ten (vv. 38-42).
The story of Mary and Martha is, of course, very familiar to most Christians. But since some may not be very well acquainted with it I have included it here for everyone to read:
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
The ideologies of Mary and Martha epitomize the two worldviews (ways of thinking) that exist in the church. Martha is known for her blunt remarks to Jesus that He should scold Mary and convince her to help her serve. But notice that Jesus was not moved by her comments even though she felt as though she had been wronged. Jesus actually affirmed Mary for sitting at His feet and choosing the "good part." While Jesus was affirming Mary he was rebuking Martha for having misconstrued priorities.
As Christians we can get so caught up in taking care of God's house, ministering to others in less-fortunate circumstances than our own, working our tails off in church, looking the part of a Christian, and complaining to God and others about those who do not do enough in "serving" the Lord. But Jesus' words in the above passage should be a sobering reminder. Have we truly chosen the "good part" (Which should imply that there is obviously a "bad" part) like Mary who had a genuine loving relationship with the Lord willing to simply lay it all down to hear her Master's message? Or are we more like Martha-dressing the part, adding work upon work, preparing the appearance of the house and neglecting the presence of God in her own home? All throughout the New Testament Jesus deals with two scenarios: those who are more concerned with the way things appear than the condition of what can not be seen-namely, the heart of an individual. In Matthew seven (v. 21-24), Jesus speaks about a person who called Him "Lord", who "prophesied" and "cast out devils" and did "many mighty works" (had the gifts of the Holy Spirit). But He said none of what could be seen really mattered. What mattered to Him was whether or not the person "knew" Him-or we might say had an authentic relationship with Him-closer than a brother, spouse, and best friend combined.
It is in all or our interests to take a step back, stop working long enough to examine our lives, and sharpen our spiritual swords by prioritizing Jesus and sitting at His feet in an intimate relationship-putting Him above everything else.
Martha was much like many of the Pharisees who Jesus said were only concerned with the way things looked at first glance. The lumberjack from our story was the same as well; everything appeared to be going his way. He had it all wrapped up-even looked the part-but he greatly misjudged.
It is easy to get caught up in religion. Martha was religious. Religious people will most certainly dress like they are religious. They work at the churches and ministries doing what they believe are "good" things for the kingdom. They pray (complain) and gossip about those who don't fit the religious mold. Then there are the Mary's. Those who could care less about fitting in, and filling up the church; who care less about how the house looks on the outside-but simply wants to sit and listen to the all the words that proceed from the Master's mouth.
We must remember that religion is simply mans way of making himself "right" in God's eyes; it is his way of trying to get God's attention and approval for something "good" that he thinks he can do. Unlike religion, a true and authentic loving relationship with God is not based on self-gratification-and that is exactly what religion is: self-gratifying. Religion really has very little to do with God and is mostly, if not all, for the person practicing it. Conversely, a relationship-a genuine relationship-with God through His Son Jesus Christ, sacrifices and nails to the cross our own way or ways of doing things to impress a god that we have created for our own reward. Relationship takes on God's way and places any other way, below-way below-His.
So here is the great question: Religious or Righteous?
The idea for the above "Lumberjack" illustration was presented to me by: A. Garcia