In our society, today there is a great deal of momentum around the concept of performance based evaluations. On the job, incentive pay rewards the employee for increasing their productivity. In education, some states reward teachers with "merit pay" based on the performance of their students on state mandated assessments. In our homes parents reward their sons and daughters for completing chores, making exceptional grades, and at times the reward is just a recognition of the child's positive behavior. The idea here is the harder I work, the more I do, the more I can potentially be rewarded for my efforts. This mentality may have benefits in the right arena, but when we start transferring this mentality to our walk of faith it starts turning sideways.
I'm not sure if Performance Based Faith is a real term or not, yet surprisingly when I Googled the phrase Performance Based Faith a plethora of options filtered through on my screen. So I started prowling around the different articles and sure enough the notion of improving one's position with God is in many people's minds a reflection of how much time is spent on "doing" things for God. The more time I spend at my church serving on committees the more relational equity I am acquiring with God. Or the more I go out and give of my time in the community, the better the investment will provide a positive yield with God. The more I do good, the more I give above my tenth, and the more I stretch myself thin doing, and doing, and doing obviously result in a positive response from our Creator, right?
Well.... let me just say, if we are walking with God, if we truly have a relationship with God, then absolutely we are called to serve in all of the areas listed above. We are called to serve, but the issue at hand isn't the service we provide, it is more about the intention behind the service that can get us out of line with our true faith and trust in God. "For we walk by faith not by sight" II Corinthians 5:7 is the battle cry that Paul, a true servant of God, proclaimed as he mentored the church in Corinth. We are to serve for sure, but at the end of the day if that service is solely an effort to display our faith to man or even to God then it is highly possible we may be missing the target.
We serve God because of our faith, not the reverse. We trust in God so we are able to place our trust in Him and we understand that it is God who is in us that allows us to serve others. God in us allows us to do what we do and for that we need to give credit where credit is due. My service to God has nothing to do with me accomplishing anything. Instead, the service I provide to others is a direct result of what God has done for me and in me and what He is now allowing me to do for Him. In other words, my performance isn't mine, it is more of God working in me and through me allowing me to carry out the purpose for which I was created. What I do is directly correlated to what God has chosen to do in me and through me.
What then are we charged with doing in our walk of faith you ask? "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up" James 4:10. Don't get caught up in the "Look what I've done" mentality that can easily ensnare us as we begin a walk with God. It isn't about what we do, but it is all about what God can and will do through us if we allow Him to and humbly thank God for allowing us to be His chosen vessel. "Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world" I John 4:4 comes to mind here. Without God receiving all the glory, it starts to become more about me and what I have accomplished for God, when in reality it is all about God and what He has chosen to do in this His willing vessel. Without God I am like an empty, clay jar sitting on the shelf, worthless. Once I allow God to fill me and pour me out as His Holy Spirit guides, then I can truly serve God. As that service ends and I move to the next step in my walk of faith I am constantly giving all the credit to God and basking in the knowledge that I was found worthy to be used!
Thank you, God, for choosing us to do your work here on earth! We can do nothing without you, but with you all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26). As we live, love, work, and grow in you, may our prayer be that our performance is not an effort to "show" our faith, but instead may our faith in you be a direct driving force behind all we do for you and you do through us! Amen
Your Servant,
Coach Carter
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