You are only a few good decisions away from an ungodly trajectory

 Surprisingly, I get a significant number of people who ask me the same question. Whether it is someone in the community when they find out I’m a pastor or someone in the church asking me as one of their pastors or a younger pastor asking me for perspective- the question I am asked repeatedly is, "What is the hardest part of being a pastor?"

For me, I think the hardest part of being a pastor has been and is watching people be given the opportunity to make faith-based decisions to flourish in Christ or people who had been making faith based decision to flourish in Christ, decide not to.

One reality I’ve come to watch play out over and over again is that the pathway from flourishing to floundering is not what you expect. 

It is nothing as stark or shocking as any of the aforementioned situations.

It’s often the slow fade of a spiritual trajectory being swallowed up by temporal pursuits.  Maybe I could put it another way, you are only a few good decisions away from an ungodly trajectory.

I would argue that good decisions are actually antithetical to what Christians are called to choose.  We are called to make godly decisions that weigh eternity in regards to their outcome.

Saul decided to sacrifice to the Lord to get His wisdom and blessing on what to do with their enemies...good in man's realm, ungodly in God's realm.

Jonah flees to Tarshish to ensure God delivers judgment against Israel's enemies...good in man's realm, ungodly in God's realm. 

Peter claims he will NEVER forsake Jesus and corrects Him about stating He must be crucified...good in man's realm, ungodly in God's realm. 

Ananias and Sapphria determined to be generous to the Gospel by their own standard while manipulating folks into thinking they had given all they could...good in man's realm, ungodly in God's realm.

The Corinthian church was "so accepting, patient, and loving"  with a professing church member living in open, unrepentant sin...good in man's realm, ungodly in God's realm.

On we could go, but we can easily see this is an issue throughout the Bible that even genuine believers can fall prey to.

"It is an important time for them to learn valuable lessons on their sports team."

"I have the opportunity to make so much more money but I will be out of church consistently."

"It is just lunch with a coworker of the opposite gender, it is not a big deal."

"We just need to find a church that fits our needs."

"I really like him (or her) but I don't want to make it awkward by talking about religion."

"I need some me time..."

"I am too old now to serve in the church...let the younger folks take it on,"

"I am too busy with kids in the house to make time for hospitality or church."

Good decisions chase what is comfortable and convenient- no Bible to submit to and no self-denial for Jesus' will required. 

Good decisions prioritize the short term and the temporal- how I feel, what I want, and what I do not want dominates the process.

Good decisions avoid accountability- we see no reason to seek counsel from the pastors, deacons, or other Christians in our local assembly that they are accountable to.

Good decisions are untethered from the Bible- I mean, after all, not every decision has to have a biblical reason.

The average follower of Jesus is not wrecked by a tsunami of blatant sinfulness; it's the slow burn of good, not godly wisdom (and therefore decisions) that dissolves marriages, devotes time to worthless pursuits, causes people to leave churches, results in lacking a witness at work, or creates homes with children hostile to submitting to Jesus.

Friends, let us each be cautious as we are only a few good decisions away from an ungodly trajectory.