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"Religion is such that we are only as good as our last performance."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 75.
If the quote above was a good definition of religion, it would be easy to classify some of our relationships, some of our jobs and some of our activities as religious endeavors. We are so often judged, and we so often judge ourselves by how well we were able to complete the task at hand.
I have worked for people in the past who had little to no appreciation for the hard work it took to get something done. As soon as a project was completed they acted as though they wanted to ask the question, "What have you done for me lately?"
I have also witnessed interactions between loved ones where there didn't seem to be any recognition for all the work that it took to make something happen that could be credited as a job well done. The disappointment in the face of that hard working soul when the other choose to overlook their efforts and focus only on what wasn't done is something I won't soon forget.
Using performance as a basis for relationship is such a demoralizing way lead and to be led. Believe me, I totally understand the need to get things done. If we stay in that place, where performance is the foundation for all that is good between two people, victims are sure to be made as time goes on this way.
I have seen way too many instances where Church is exactly this way. It is so easy to get caught up in the mission of the organization. People who are viewed as being a part of making that mission a reality can get burned out in the performance trap. It might be the staff at a church, or maybe it is specific congregation members... Whatever the case, performance isn't what God is concerned with. Relationship is God's foremost focus when it comes to the organization that He founded as being what will represent Him here on this earth.
Take a look at how God described His Church in today's Bible reading.
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 2 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV)
We, the Church, are called the bride of Christ. I don't see much that I can point to as performance based when it comes to this personal and extremely relational description of what religion is suppose to be. Yet, we have taken this charge to be presented pure as a personal challenge to DO all we can to make this happen. We then pass all this DOING on to those around us and make what is suppose to be a beautiful interpersonal connection, into an arrangement that looks more like a business than a marriage.
Sure there is a lot to do when it comes to Church life. Someone has to be responsible for planning and implementing all that God puts on the hearts of the leaders of our Churches. It is when we allow performance to be the guiding light for what we do that victim thinking is sure to be a part of the results of all our doing. Performance should play a role in getting done all that we have before us. If performance is all we look to to help us judge the relative strength of our church organization, then we have missed the mark and are on the path of making victim hood a part of what we do.
The same goes for all you and I do both inside and outside the Church. Performance and the results of our performance just can't be what we rely on when it comes to determining how well we are at living out the victor status God has granted us. If there is any single thing that we should look to as a measuring stick when it comes to how well we are performing as God's Child it should be relationship.
How many deep and impacting relationships do you have in your life? How much time do you spend worrying about the lives and well being of those in your sphere of influence? How many times do you pray for the lives of others as compared the results of what you are doing with and for others?
God is a jealous bridegroom. He is jealous for His Church. He sees her as His beautiful bride. I have to tell you, I really don't want to be on the bad side of any bridegroom for mistreating his bride in ways I could have avoided. Yet mistreat her is what we do when we turn to performance as our benchmark for how well we are taking on the tasks God might be leading us to do.
If God were so worried about performance I think He would have chosen different descriptions when it comes to what we are to be doing inside the Church. If God were our boss, performance might be appropriate. But He isn't our boss... He is our Father! I want to be part of a loving relationship between a Dad and His kids more than I want the kinds of Employer/Employee interactions I have been part of in the past. I hope you too have seen the power of a relational means of life over a performance based life and choose to seek after relationship over performance today.
Next time you come across someone who is trying to judge you based on your performance, hold on tight! Hold on to the fact that God sees you as so much more than just a servant. He sees you as something beautiful... something desirable... something worth losing it all over. Let those things put performance in the right perspective. Do all you can do today with the knowledge that you are God's Child. Let that be what makes your victor status come alive in life changing ways.
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