Friday, May 28, 2010

Spiritual Entropy

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." (Hebrews 2:1)

I've wrapped up my slow and intentional read of "Leading on Empty" and have been struck with my need to continue developing a very intentional life rather than reactionary. Part of seeking to lead an intentional life means one must be willing to consistently monitor and assess which requires margin. The need for this is clearly stated in the book where the author writes "Entropy, or the gradual decline back into a mediocre lifestyle defined by habit and reaction, is natural."

Even though I have been following Christ for 30+ years now, there is little doubt that I am still needing to grow. A reactionary life (defined in my last blog post) leads one to the pathway of mediocrity at rates that sometimes leave me feeling overwhelmed. How true the words from Hebrews that remind us of our need to give time and attention to an intentional life so as to avoid the spiritual drift into mediocrity that we are all susceptible to.

At the young/middle age of 38, I am beginning to realize that all the energy and good intentions I had for Christ in my 20's doesn't come as easy anymore. There is so much vying for my attention in life that I have a tendency to drift into a state of spiritual entropy whereby I am putting out mediocre "religious product" (heard a sermon last Sunday on this) at best. In fact, I would wager a guess that many other pastors/ministry teams/churches/boards struggle with this as well.

Spiritual entropy describes the North American church and reminds me of many of the warnings given to the 7 churches in Revelation. If we are to ever overcome this in our churches, then I need to make sure I am doing my part to live an intentional life so as to make a difference to the glory and honor of Jesus in whatever part of His vineyard He chooses to use me throughout the rest of my days here on earth!

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