Today I taught out of Revelation 3:14-22 and the “whatever” attitude people can have towards Jesus and how often it’s an authority problem, a passion problem, or a reality problem.
The great thing is that while you might have a “whatever” attitude towards Jesus, he does not have a “whatever”attitude towards you. Please use this resource to check your attitude towards Jesus.
A “WHATEVER” ATTITUDE CHECK-UP
Modified from ‘Crazy Love’ by Francis Chan
A person with a “whatever” attitude towards Jesus…
- …attends church regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe ‘good Christians’ do, so they go.
- …gives money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.
- …don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them.
- …rarely share their faith with their neighbors, co-workers or friends. They do not want to be rejected. They fear others more than Jesus.
- …gauge their morality or ‘goodness’ by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.
- …say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
- …love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for pastors, missionaries and radicals.
A person with a “whatever” attitude towards Jesus…
- …love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back.
- …will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go, or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give.
- …are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
- …do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the base minimum, to be ‘good enough’ without it requiring too much of them.
- …are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and taking risks for God.
- …do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.
- …probably pray before meals and at bedtime. But that is where communion with God stops.
- …probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but that couldn’t be more wrong.
