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The Danger of Casual or Plastic Christianity and the

 Power of that Quality Called Diligence (Part 1)

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle

Today's church is full of people who had great dreams to achieve outstanding testimonies for the Kingdom and who probably started out well, but along the way, obstacles arose, difficulties arose, oppositions arose, circumstances grew unfavorable, those barriers grew magnified, and they began to give up in their hearts, and their great dream became a wasted adventure.

So many people all around the world have caged or boxed their God-given goals because they were discouraged on the road to victory and couldn't keep up the tempo of tremendous commitment, industry, and assiduity.

I understand that life is supposed to progress from one level to the next. We are expected to continue to grow with each passing day. God expects you to grow in your knowledge of Him every day. God intended for your relationship with him to become stronger over time, but many Christians have a history of beginning well and ending badly. Our affection has cooled. A cycle of failures runs through our lives. We've lost our concentration and are no longer determined to live lives that matter. We are a generation of people that are dissatisfied with life at best. We've cried out to God as if the problem stems from him, but the truth is that we've underutilized or even ignored the character of diligence.

Why are you not succeeding in life?

Why are more people failing today in their personal relationships with God and with other people?

Why are more marriages and ministries failing?

Why are churches developing worldly strategies to hypnotize, and mesmerize their members to pay their compulsory taxes?

Why are you no longer producing satisfying results in your kingdom activity?

Why are so many worthy causes of the kingdom which you have dreamed about, some of which you have already started ending up as mere stories?

I believe with all my heart that the bottom line to most of these non-performances is the absence of that quality called diligence.

Why aren't you achieving your goals in life?

Why are so many individuals today failing in their personal relationships with God and others?

Why are so many ministries failing and so many marriages ending in divorce?

Why are churches adopting worldly tactics to seduce and enthrall their congregations into paying their mandatory taxes?

Why aren't you getting the outcomes you want in your kingdom work?

Why are so many excellent kingdoms cause that you have dreamed about, and some of which you have already begun, turning into simply stories?

I am convinced that the lack of that trait known as diligence is at the root of the majority of these underperformances.

Casual Christianity

 Casual Christianity has risen to prominence as the most popular and most accepted kind of Christianity. The deeper life and Bible-believing faith are increasingly becoming a practice of a select few who are currently demonstrating dramatic outcomes and, of course, outstandingly excelling in the undertakings they are involved in.

 We appear to be running the Christian race for the glory of God rather than the prize, which is why we run in such a way that others may praise us. We run to please man rather than to satisfy God.

 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown" (1 Cor.  9:24-25 NKJV).

 

"No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops" (2 Tim. 2:4-6 NKJV).

A failure mentality has captured us. We are no longer willing to pay the prize for our salvation. Many even think that as soon as they confess Christ as savior they are heaven-bound and must not do anything to maintain it. The Bible said the opposite, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).

 Because we give willful loyalty to slothfulness and laziness, we have modified God's commandment concerning work. We are a group of people that are solely interested in God's goods. With the smallest challenge or barrier, we readily give up. My brother, it is still true that one individual with dedication, perseverance, and endurance may do more than a thousand people with mere interest.

Concentration is an undeniable reality that unlocks the door to success. Concentration is the first law of success, and it takes a conscientious person to attain it.

Be your best for Jesus by overcoming the mushroom cloud of mediocrity in your life. And if you recognize yourself in some of the concerns I've mentioned above, I will be considering a series that will show you how to escape using the ancient manual of success, the Bible.

This study on diligence, will illuminate your heart and lead you into the realm of practical application in daily interactions. As you approach your life's purpose with that attitude of radical diligence, your life will change dramatically.

I am so confident that your encounter with God through the revelation and inspiration contained in this series of articles on diligence will certainly enrich your life and your life will never be the same.  Maranatha.