Skip to main content

“The goal of spirituality is not to lead—it's to know and please God.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-10) from his book, Spirituality for the Rest of Us: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Knowing God (p. 50). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book)

Larry asked some very good questions a little earlier in this chapter.  He said, “What if God didn't want everyone to be turned into a leader and a hill-charging spiritual warrior? Could he possibly be pleased with simple folks who loved God, loved their family and friends, then died without ever doing (or wanting to do) anything outstandingly significant?”

He then said, “The more I mulled this over, and the more closely I examined the Bible, the more convinced I became that the answer was yes. Mediocrity was actually an option—and for some, a God-pleasing option. It had to be. Because if it's impossible to be below average and please God, we have a BIG problem on our hands. Whatever we're measuring, and by whatever measure we use, half of us will always be on the wrong side of the average line, by the very definition of it.”

Then right before this highlighted thought he said, “The key to knowing God on a truly personal level and experiencing a genuine God-pleasing spirituality may well begin with the vanquishing of all the old tapes and voices calling us to be something we're not. Instead, we must learn to listen to the still small voice of the Spirit as he calls and equips us to be a better us, rather than a poor imitation of someone else. For those of us who are leader types, we can expect to find plenty of help for our spiritual journey. We're the prized prospect, the kind of Christian most churches and ministry organizations encourage and motivate best. We need to keep at it; we're vital to the future of the church and God's kingdom. But we also need to work hard not to project our personality and calling on everyone else.”  Then the thought, “The goal of spirituality is not to lead—it's to know and please God.”


That is the goal, isn’t it?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...