So, i started reading Romans 1 today for my quiet time, as I had shared with Jen that i wanted to take the time to really go through Romans slowly and let it sink in. As i got to verses 21-22, I got to thinking about my life and how I view it as opposed to how others view it. Verses 21-22 states, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."
One of my favorite authors is John Piper. As anybody who has read Piper knows, he's pretty much got a one track focus when it comes to his writings, which is basically that in order for us to glorify God, we must first be supremely satisfied in who He is, and it is in that satisfaction that will create a strong desire to glorify God in everyway. Having read "Don't Waste Your Life" over a year ago, I was struck by that central tenet of Piper's teachings about being satisfied in God and the life He gives you in order to truly glorify God.
One of the things that makes me laugh sometimes is how people that I know will think that my life is pretty exciting. When I talk with relatives or friends, they always tell me how great it is to hear about all the new and exciting things that are happenning in Jen and I's life together. For me, it makes me laugh because exciting is not exactly the word I would use sometimes to describe how I feel about my life. Not that i'm bored, oh no, not in the slighest, being married to Jennifer has brought me some really awesome experiences and I wouldn't trade being married to her for anything, it's just when I look at my life, for some reason, I just think about what I gotta do to get through a day. A typical day in my mind oftentimes centers around working for 8 hours, then getting Jen from work, cooking dinner, doing homework for 3 or so hours, then watching the Food Network for a couple hours, then sleep and it's back the next day. As I thought more about what Piper was saying and reflecting on that Romans passage, I got to thinking, is it sin to think that my life is ordinary, or is the just the reality of day to day living ?
Looking at the people that were being described in the Romans passage, I got to thinking about what would cause them to have such a poor attitude, which ultimately leads to some really perverted sexual lifestyles being adopted. Whenever I have read that passage in the past, I always thought about how it was just the nature of their sinful heart that drove them to be selfish and make those decisions that were not honoring to God. Today however, I started to realize that just as much as it was the sinful nature of those people's hearts that led them to sin, I thought that it could be extrapolated that those people just weren't satisfied with some aspect of their life, which led them to want to do something more exciting, or in this case, much more perverted. Thinking about the Roman culture, it was built on excess and world domination, which to me shows a severe lack of thankfulness when it comes to the life that they already had. Year after year Romans feasted on the tales of the accomplishments of their Roman Army abroad as they took over country after country. Within the walls of Rome, all kinds of selfish behavior reigned, from prostitution to shady business practices to gluttony of food and wine. Thinking about what got the Romans to that point, I see so clearly now that its roots probably came at an earlier point in their life when they stopped being satisfied with what they had, and started lusting after more.
It is that attitude that worries me that I could have the beginnings of now. It's hard for me to think of my life as exciting sometimes, especially when i'm staring the gritty realities of being a full time husband, student and part time worker in the face. It's that attitude that I don't want to go too far, and I thank Piper for what he taught me about how I can glorify God. Even though I'm not jet setting across the globe and even though I have to clip coupons to help save money, my life still has alot going for it, and even if it isn't exciting to me sometimes, it's still a life worth thanking God for, because after all, He's the one who gives it to me on a daily basis.
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I haven't read John Piper, but I saw a video series he did concerning "Christian Hedonism"--the concept being how we should enjoy our lives and live for pleasure--but a holy kind of pleasure, the kind that comes from being in the center of God's plans for our life. Today I read an article about a survey done to determine what makes teens happy. They had surprisingly simple answers, such as the 17-year old boy who said happiness is "just waking up in the morning and looking forward to what I'm going to be doing that day." Too often, I don't have that outlook when I get up in the morning...
I know how you feel Cindy in reference to waking up in the morning, Jen will tell you that some mornings, well, probably most mornings, the last thing i want to do is get out of a warm, comfortable bed. I actually saw that same Piper series you were speaking to and the thing that i realized is that it is not possible for us to enjoy our "life" as you call it unless we truly are satisfied in God first. Piper's reasoning was that if you have issues with God, whether it be doubting his goodness or just not being satisfied with who He is, then in no way are you gonna be able to recognize how it is God who provides your life for His good pleasure, and that one can only enjoy his God given life if he accepts who God is in his life.
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