Changing the Way We Look at Life

Posted by on May 27, 2001 under Sermons

There is no end to the different ways that people look at life. People view existence in this world through very different sets of eyes. Even when people look at the same circumstances and situations, different people have totally different views. Let me use two examples as illustrations.

To some people, life stinks. No matter what the circumstances are or the situation is, they always see the stinky things. Trouble chases them like a vicious dog. Problems cling to them like ticks. Tragedy rains on them like hail stones. When something good happens, they cannot enjoy it. They spend their time wondering when the bad will come. If they win a million dollars, the taxes are horrible. When someone is kind to them, they wonder, “What is that person trying to do to me?” To them, life is horrible, so they look for the bad in every situation.

To some people, life is wonderful. Everything is wonderful! If trouble chases someone like an angry dog, that person irritated the dog. If problems cling to someone like ticks, that person walked among the ticks. If tragedy falls on someone like hail stones, that person chases tornadoes. Life is naturally good! Bad things do not happen unless you invite them into your life. They never look at life and see anything bad.

Three men experience the same plane crash and survive. All three sustain basically the same injuries. After the crash, one lives life in fear. Everywhere he looks, he sees something threatening life. One lives in anger. Everything is a giant conspiracy against him. One learns from the experience. The crash and recovery made him wiser, more insightful.

How can the same crash in the same plane at the same moment which caused each man similar injuries produce such different reactions? It was not the crash experience. It was the way the three men viewed life. The way we look at life molds the way we live life.

  1. Are you a Christian?
    1. If your answer is, “Yes,” may I ask you a question: is it not obvious that something is basically incorrect with our concept of Christian existence, our concept of “church,” our concept of spirituality?
      1. It is obvious to me that something is basically incorrect with our concept of Christian existence, the church, and spirituality.
        1. If you talked to Brad Pistole who works with our young people, I have no doubt that he would tell you that it is obvious to him that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
        2. If you talked to Ted Edwards who works with our education program and involvement, I have no doubt that he would tell you that it is obvious to him that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
        3. There are any number of Christians in this congregation, some in leadership roles and some who are committed servants, who would say it is obvious that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
      2. Someone says, “Amen! It is about time you talked about what is wrong!”
        1. “We need to correct some ‘doctrinal issues’ around here!”
        2. To me, what is obviously incorrect about the way we look at Christian existence, the church, and spirituality is far more basic than what many call doctrine.
        3. “We need to get some ‘church practices’ straightened out around here!”
        4. To me, what is obviously incorrect about the way we look at Christian existence, the church, and spirituality is far more basic than what many call “church practices.”

    2. “David, what are you talking about? What possibly can be more basic than doctrine or church practices? Can anything be more basic than that?”
      1. Yes. There are understandings that determine our view of Christian existence, that determine our view of the church, that determine our view of spirituality that are more basic than what many classify as doctrine or church practices.
      2. “Why would you think that something is incorrect with our basic views?”
        1. I want to say some things that I need to say, that we all need to consider in our minds and hearts.
        2. I have a problem: some of you will think, “He is talking about me.”
        3. I want to make this very clear.
        4. I am not talking specifically about any person or situation.
        5. I know for a fact these things are common place.
      3. Let me share specific reasons for concluding that something is basically incorrect with our concepts of Christian existence, the church, and spirituality.
        1. Too many who sit here most Sunday mornings view Christian existence, the church, and spirituality as a matter of projecting an image.
          1. Everyone in the family knows the rules.
          2. Rule # 1: “All family arguments on Sunday morning stop when we are within one mile of the church building.”
            1. “We can fight like cats and dogs at home or in the car any other time.”
            2. “But not on Sunday morning when we are within a mile of the church building.”
          3. Rule # 2: “When we get out of the car, everybody must act like we are one, big happy family. We are not. But everyone of us must act like we are on Sunday morning at the church building.”
          4. Rule # 3: “Nobody can say anything to anyone about our family problems to anyone who goes to West-Ark. If you have to fake it, fake it. We must protect our image.”
        2. There are too many of us who think that a lifestyle of drinking, or drugs, or addictions have no relevance to spirituality.
        3. There are too many who think that pornographic habits have no influence or effect on Christian existence.
        4. There are too many who have concluded that sexual activity outside of marriage has nothing to do with faith in Christ.
        5. We Christians get our lives in horrible messes; we Christians inflict horrible pain on ourselves; and we Christians struggle with the consequences of ungodly lifestyles because we allow godless influences to shape our view of life.

    3. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
      1. Let me try to say it as plainly as I know how to say it.
      2. Too many Christians willingly look at life in the same way that people who do not belong to God look at life.
      3. Too many Christians willingly look at spirituality in the same way that people who are not spiritual look at spirituality.
      4. Too many Christians willingly look at the church in the same way that people who have no desire to be the church look at it.
      5. Too many Christians willingly look at Christian existence in the same way that people who do not want to be Christians look at Christian existence.
      6. Too many Christians hunger to live just like people who are not godly–and just add “going to church.”
      7. It is impossible to look at life as do the godless and belong to God.
      8. Question: who is influencing whom in the way they look at God and spiritual existence?

  2. A basic truth that is fundamental to spiritual existence: when a person is converted to Jesus Christ, it changes the way he or she looks at life.
    1. I want to share two illustrations from the Bible.
    2. The first illustration comes from Jesus himself.
      1. I could use many of Jesus’ statements, but I will use Matthew 6:19-34. Read with me.
        Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
      2. Sometimes in our studies we are so focused on dissecting the thought that we never see the basic point.
      3. What is the basic point? “Israel, people who are serious about godliness and righteousness absolutely must change the way they look at life”.
        1. “You cannot look at life the way you always looked at life and be God’s people.”
        2. “I know that is the way your religious leaders look at life, and even tell you their view of life is God’s view of life.”
        3. “But if you truly want to be God’s people, you must see life differently.”

    3. The second illustration comes from Paul as he wrote to Christians whose background was in idolatry. The statement is found in Ephesians 4:17-24.
      So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
      1. “You must not look at life in the same way as do people who live godless lives.”
      2. “You cannot look at life in the same way you did when you worshipped idols.”
      3. “Christians look at life differently; they think differently, feel differently, and have different values.”
      4. “Christians desire to be what God created them in Christ to be–they want to be different because Christ makes it possible for them to look at life differently.”

Too often the influences that control the minds of Christians are the values of godless forces, the pleasures of godless forces, and the standards of godless forces. Many of these forces do not even pretend to be godly.

When I study the Bible’s concepts of godliness and spirituality, and I look at our common concepts of godliness and spirituality, I grieve. Our concepts too often are based on church membership, church attendance, and church programs. They are not based on being something. They are based on doing something. So if we do what we consider to be the right things, we can live and behave like people who have no spiritual interests.

That is not the Bible’s concept of Christianity. That is churchanity. Is the church important? Absolutely! Those who are in Christ are the church. Jesus died so we could be the church. But we who are the church simply cannot look at life in the same way as do people who are not the church. We who seek to be godly, spiritual people in Christ cannot look at life and adopt the lifestyles of people who have no interest in being godly or spiritual.

If we think the difference is seen in church attendance, we do not understand godliness. If we think the difference is seen in church membership, we do not understand spirituality. If we think the difference is just a different set of rules, we do not understand righteousness.

The difference is seen in the way we use life. We use life differently because we look at life differently.