If you grew up in a traditional church, maybe it was Presbyterian or Lutheran, you probably heard this question phrased a different way: What is the chief end of man? This is a question I have been wrestling with for some time. I was raised in a Baptist church, but have attended several charismatic/non-denominational churches over the past several years and I can honestly say that every church seems to answer this question differently, whether directly or indirectly.
Most churches don't come out and say this is why we are here, but you can tell by what they emphasize. Some churches put a stress of importance on their music. Others on the preaching. Others still on their activities. I think sometimes it is hard to separate traditions in the church with what is actually in the Scripture.
Here's what I mean. I recently read an article by the Internet Monk about the "wretched urgency". You can find it here. He basically says that the urgency to make every single christian into a mini-evangelist is just plain wrong. He argues that the apostles never taught the churches to evangelize by going door-to-door, but to live quiet christian lives and to continue to do their daily chores.
Most churches don't come out and say this is why we are here, but you can tell by what they emphasize. Some churches put a stress of importance on their music. Others on the preaching. Others still on their activities. I think sometimes it is hard to separate traditions in the church with what is actually in the Scripture.
Here's what I mean. I recently read an article by the Internet Monk about the "wretched urgency". You can find it here. He basically says that the urgency to make every single christian into a mini-evangelist is just plain wrong. He argues that the apostles never taught the churches to evangelize by going door-to-door, but to live quiet christian lives and to continue to do their daily chores.
I was brought up to believe that the perfect Christian was the one who prayed every day, had quiet time every morning and who adamantly shared their faith to everyone they met (so their blood wouldn't be on your hands). Now, I do not believe these are bad things, I just don't believe them to be marks of a true Christian. I believe a true Christian is hard to peg down sometimes. It's hard because so much tradition is attached to that word and it is hard to see the truth through all the static.
Here's the skinny: If you pray a whole lot, that doesn't mean you are a good Christian, it only means you pray a whole lot. Buddhists pray a whole lot. If you have quiet time every morning, that doesn't mean you are a good Christian. It only means you get up early and sit quietly.
When asked the question, what is the chief end of man? How do you answer? Is it something like this...We are here to worship God. Or maybe, we are here to convert the heathen. Or do you not really know why you are here? In Charles Spurgeon's catechism (and many others) he says that the chief end of man is the glorify God and enjoy him forever. Do you think you are glorifying God? If so, how do you glorify God?
John Piper says it this way: God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him. Let me unpack that for a second. God gets glory in us when we find satisfaction in him...not other things. We often find satisfaction in ipads, cars, houses, spouses, money, etc., but not too often do we look to God for satisfaction. Here's the crux: If you lose it all today, will you be satisfied with God tomorrow? That's the hard part.
I know I have a hard time thinking that way. I've lost it all before. I've been down to $12 dollars in my bank account and no clue how to pay my bills or when the next check was coming in. I don't know that I was entirely satisfied with God at that moment. I think I was just more worried than anything else. Times have changed for me and now I seem to have an abundance, but my attitude doesn't always say that I'm satisfied with God. Sometimes I just want more. Sometimes I have to repent. Sometimes I worry about what would happen if God took everything away. Sometimes I know I'd be fine.
I think another key element in this is being satisfied in suffering. That's not something we preach often. We understand being satisfied with your stuff, but your health is a different matter. I think Matt Chandler (pastor of Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas) is a perfect example of this. Despite the fact that he has brain cancer, he is still glorifying God. Matt gives me hope. Not hope that he will be ok, but hope that God has the strength to bring me through whatever lies ahead. Even if I never go threw anything that bad, I can see through Matt that saying and believing are two different things and God gets the most glory not when we say that we glorify him or sing a song about glorifying him, but when we actually glorify him through our actions.
(The image above is a picture of Matt Chandler being prayed for at the 2010 T4G conference. Photo by Daniel Perez Jr. via thegospelcoalition.org)
