I’ve been reading a lot lately about a move in the workforce called “quiet quitting.”  Quiet quitting happens when an employee decides to not do anything above and beyond his or her job description.  These employees also decide not do engage in any work activity outside of their defined work hours.

Some look at quiet quitting as a healthy decision to set boundaries that bring balance to life.  Others fear quiet quitting may lead to a larger withdrawal of an individual from life’s responsibilities.  I can see the merits of both perspectives, but have no interest in debating it as a workplace practice.

Quiet Quitting and Church

My concern is that I have seen evidence of a quiet quitting among church people over the last several years.  And we cannot blame it all on the pandemic.  It was happening before we ever learned about the new “C-word,” COVID.

My uncle recently posted a quote on Facebook that captured my thoughts: “God is in control, but he doesn’t expect you to lean on a shovel and pray for a hole.”  With so many issues in life, people tend to gravitate toward extremes.  And, if we aren’t careful, we do the same when living out our faith.  We fail to live out our faith between two extremes.

One the one hand, there is the extreme of self-effort.  Some tend to equate spiritual living with “doing better,” “trying harder,” or any number of human efforts.  They measure their worth by their ability to do certain things.  And, sadly, they judge others’ spirituality by the same matrix.

On the other hand, there is the extreme of what I call passive faith.  People with passive faith live by their own rules and pursue their own goals but expect God to intervene. They “let go and let God” as they wait for Him to work in spite of themselves.  

However, true spiritual growth comes not at the extremes but in the vibrant middle.  Consider the following passage:

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:12-13

God’s (not Gold’s) Gym Lies Between the Extremes

I like to think of these two verses in terms of physical exercise.  A person who “works out” by lifting weights, hopes that his or her muscles will grow larger.  But their effort does not produce a muscle that is not already there.  Rather, exercise causes the existing muscle to grow larger and stronger.  

Yes, they “work out” but there is already something else that “works in.”  The muscle benefits from protein and carbohydrates fuel the exercise.  The lungs infuse with oxygen the blood that the heart pumps to the muscles.  Oxygen serves as a catalyst for the energy that is created to help the muscles grow larger.

Even before the work OUT, some things are already working IN.  And that is true for us in spiritual growth as well.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Psalm 34:8

In prayer meeting she reported that the medical test came back negative.  The recipient breathed a sigh of relief and proclaimed, “God is good!” 

She told her best friend about an unexpected financial windfall that came just as some unexpected bills came due.  Together they rejoiced as she testified, “God is good!”

He told me the story over lunch of how he had prayed and prayed for God to give him the job for which he applied.  He just knew that job would be the doorway to a happier life.  He finally got the call telling him the job was his.  He smiled as he declared, “God is good!”

We listened in prayer meeting as another “she” reported a positive medical test and terminal diagnosis. We all shed tears, but no one proclaimed, “God is good.”

Another “she” confided in a friend that her worries about her finances.  Her rent was 3 months past due and collectors called every day.  They had some unexpected auto repairs and medical bills and had no money to catch up what they owed.  The friend listened sympathetically, but neither testified of the goodness of God.

I listened to another “he” tell me that his boss called him in unexpectedly and told him they had to let him go.  There was no severance.  He has a wife and three small children and is not sure how they will make ends meet.  He admitted his worry, but we declared nothing about the goodness of God.  

 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 
 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isaiah 40:28-29

I’ve recently been writing devotional readings based on the names and attributes of God found in the Bible. One of the most meaningful names of God is El Olam. This name of God combines the general Hebrew term (El) with the Hebrew word for everlasting or eternal. (olam).

The very first verse in the Bible tells us that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  Before there was a heaven or an earth there was God.  Even before there was a beginning, there was God!

Moses was most likely the author of the oldest Psalm, Psalm 90.  Psalm 90:1-2 tell us that God is from everlasting to everlasting.  Before anything was, God was.  El Olam. He was, is, and always will be.

Time and Place

As finite creatures, we cannot fathom what it means to exist outside of time and place.  But time and place are created realities.  Before God created the universe, there was no place.  Before God created light and set it apart from darkness to form the first day, there was no time.  We cannot comprehend what it means to not be somewhere at some time.  

Have you ever met someone who seemed absolutely clueless?  Some days I stare at that clueless person in the mirror.

Clueless people just don’t seem to notice the obvious.  What appears plain as day to most of us, the clueless person does not even see it.  The popular description is that they “just don’t get it.”

On the day of His resurrection, Jesus encountered two such clueless people. You can find this account in Luke 24:13-35.

We don’t’ know a lot about the particulars in this event.  The Bible stats that two of Jesus’ followers were on their way to a place called Emmaus.  Only one of the travelers, named Cleopas, is identified.  All we know about Emmaus is that it was 7 miles from Jerusalem.  The location of Biblical Emmaus remains a mystery to this day.

These two were deeply engaged in a discussion of the events of the last three days. They didn’t notice someone join them on their journey, and when they did they didn’t recognize it was Jesus.

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How Could They Be So Clueless?

Luke tells us that “their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.”  The choice of words and grammatical construction reveal that their problem was not one of ignorance but perception.  Some have suggested God blinded them from recognizing Jesus.  Considering Jesus’ later rebuke to them, however, that doesn’t seem fit the narrative.

Jesus’ rebuke sheds some light on their problem.  He said that they were “foolish” and “slow of heart to believe.”

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The most important conversations you have are the ones you have with yourself.  It may not be out put, but we all talk to ourselves.  Those conversations consist of what we are thinking and how we feel about those thoughts.

Several times a day, everyday, we face a challenge of what to believe about the things happening around us.  What will we think about them?  How will we feel about them?  And of primary importance is how we think about our lives in terms of who God is and what He is doing in and around us.  Will be believe the truths of His Word or listen to some other voice instead?

Think About What You Think About

A very important discipline to help you guard your heart is to think about what you are thinking about.  In other words, be aware of where you mind is, is going, and has been.  Philippians 4:8 gives us a great guideline to fill our mind with the kinds of thoughts that will keep the devil from stealing our heart.

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A local car wash sports the slogan: “Relax In Your Car – We Do The Washing For You.”

After you pay, an attendant uses a brush to wash your windshield and bumpers. As you to pull forward onto the conveyor you see a sign with the three simple rules. Yes, three simple rules for the car wash:

1. Place Car in Neutral
2. Take Foot off Brake
3. Keep Hands off Steering Wheel.

That car wash sign taught me a lesson about trusting God. Those same three rules that lead me safely through the car wash will also lead me safely through life.

Car Wash Lessons in Trusting God

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