"God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Matthew 5:6 (New International Version)
I recently finished a book by Pastor Andy Stanley called "The Principle Of The Path." In the book, Stanley lays out a simple formula for living that I thought was one of the most obvious things I have ever read. But it was still something I needed to be taught so I could focus on what is most important in my life. It is often the obvious things that we overlook. So there we need to focus. How is a life centered upon a Christian worldview to be lived?
The formula Stanley presents: Attention determines direction. Direction determines destination.
Not exactly rocket science, but it is something we need to be thinking about and applying to our lives in order to be effective, happy and prosperous Christians. The thing about the formula is that it must be followed exactly as laid out. Its parts are not interchangeable or can the order be modified.
Attention determines Direction. Direction determines destination.
If I am going to call myself Mr.Obvious, I'm going to call Pastor Stanley Captain Obvious. And as we look at today's beatitude from Jesus, I'm going to say that he is the Lord Obvious.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...now that is obvious! No...you say? Listen to what John Wesley another Pastor Obvious and founder of the Methodist movement thought about what it meant to hunger and thirst for righteousness:
"Righteousness as observed before, is the image of God, the mind
which was in Christ Jesus. It is every heavenly and holy temper
in one; springing as one; springing from as one will as terminating
in, the love of God as our Father and Redeemer, and love of all
men for His sake.
Translation from me, Mr Obvious: To hunger and thirst for righteousness means to "seek the kingdom of God and live righteously and He will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33)." I got that straight from Lord Obvious...Jesus Christ.
Hunger and thirst are the strongest of all our bodily appetites. When we are hungry for food and thirsty for water, we will go on a mission to satisfy those needs. When we need food and drink, even things like money, fame and possessions will not suffice. We would not trade to satisfy our physical hunger or thirst. We satisfy those needs or we die.
Jesus knew this and used these words to try and shake up our priorities. What if our primary appetite was for God? What if our hunger and thirst were not directed to food and drink, but to our faith in God? It seems impossible...but it is obvious in the lesson Jesus is teaching. If we put God first we will pay attention to holy things and find our direction and destination for our lives.
Now...this is really not about trading in food and drink for God. Although fasting can be an effective spiritual discipline, it certainly can't be done 100% of the time. Jesus is simply trying to get us to change the way we think about His place in our lives.
"Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect
will."
Romans 12:2 (New International Version)
We get that scriptural gem from the obvious apostle Paul. How we think will determine to what we will be paying attention. What we pay attention to will determine our direction in life, which will lead us to our destination. If we pay attention to the right stuff, we find good direction. If we don't our lives can end up in ruins. I know...I have been on the wrong end too many times dealing with depression, discouragement and despair because I paid attention to things that were not of God. If the eye is truly the window to the soul, pass me some Windex. But if we can re-orient ourselves to seeking God first in our lives, he can sustain our primary appetite. We will find it easier to get on the right direction in our lives. It's obvious: our path...bad direction and questionable destinations...but God's path...good direction...healing, wholeness and blessings. Pretty obvious... right? If it is so obvious how come we fail at it so often? We need to re-orient our attention back torwards God in our lives. There really is no other way to live a blessed life.
So...how do we know when we are hungry and thirsty for God, or our being led by ouw own appetites and seeking our own way? How do we avoid crashing and burning until we get to that place of blessing in our lives.
It is obvious...we measure our appetities by way of our faith.
1. The first thing we need to do is ask ourselves whether what we are hungry and thirsty for...what we are paying attention to or acting on...is it in God's Word? The Bible contains all the things we need to know about God and it contains the rule of faith and the values and direction for our lives. If what we are doing is not to be found in scripture, we are probably paying attention to worldly stuff first and are off running in our own directions and headed for an unhealthy and unholy destination.
2. Does the direction we are traveling contradict God's Word? If we are breaking commandments and putting our own pleasures first, we are not hungering or thirsting for righteousness. But just as an aside...if we are to measure what we do and avoid contradicting God's Word, we have to know God's word. Biblical literacy is crucial to the life of Christians and we must spend a lot of time in God's word. There are hundreds of reading plans out there. Check out the You Version of the Bible on line or download it as a phone application. The point is that we must immerse ourselves in God's Word.
3. We must ask ourselves if our attention and direction is harmful to ourselves or others. A lot of times we play innocent about this point. We say we didn't want to hurt ourselves or others, but this is a deception of denial. It is obvious. We have been given enough common sense by God to know if we are after His will or our own. We need to use our common sense. Is what we are paying attention too, what we are doing, is the direction we are taking in line with our common sense of right and wrong? We may avoid asking ourselves this, but deep down inside, we know if what we are doing and how we are living passes the smell test.
So remember the formula: Attention determines direction. Direction determines Destination and ask yourself where your appetites lay. Are they for God or are they for you?
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