It All Matters

For several years I led a prayer ministry, where a large part of my “job” was spending time in prayer, writing and study of the scriptures. I loved it and am so thankful for that part of my life. It formed me into the man I am today. However, I understand that many, if not most, did not have the same opportunity of spending considerable amounts of focused time in a prayer room as I did. For the young student grinding to get their college degree, or perhaps for the stay-at-home-mom raising her kids while dad worked 40-plus hours a week to provide for his family—their daily responsibilities did not afford them the same sort of seclusion and quiet time that I often engaged in.

SACRED & SECULAR

Why do  I tell you this? Well, over the years one thing I’ve encountered time and time again is the notion that some things are sacred and some things are secular. If you’re not familiar with this phraseology, it’s basically the idea that one specific calling or vocation is more significant than another. In this ideology, for example, one may say that the job of a pastor is “sacred” while the job of a school teacher is “secular.” I suppose this is because it seems that those inside the church walls focus on spiritual things, while those outside the walls specialize in more material things.

Allow me to illustrate with a conversation I once had with a church member. He said to me (I’m paraphrasing): “Man, I’d love to have your job. To be able to spend all that time in prayer and study, that would be awesome. You got it made, bro. I mean, I’m out here trying to provide for my family and you’re living it up in the prayer room.” Can you sense the tone of sacred vs. secular in what he was saying? Do you see how he perceived that what I did was really sacred and what he was doing wasn’t? Sadly, this sort of conversation has happened to me many times, and to be honest, it usually felt awkward. Now I understand why. I’m gonna go out on a limb here, but I suppose that what this young man was saying, and that what many in the church today think to be true, is that church (spiritual) work is “sacred,” while all the other stuff is “secular.”

I understand this may not be what all are saying, but it’s safe to assume some are. Simply because, growing up in the whole church world, I encountered this mindset quite often—to where there always seemed to be this sort of “man on the mountain” view towards church leaders, specifically pastors. It was as if their “spiritual duties” overshadowed the “ordinary,” day-to-day doings of the man or woman under their pastoral care. I suppose this is why a lot of the church has become so co-dependent on its leaders, to where now, many of the congregants rely on them to provide weekly manna. For this, we have forfeited the calling of cultivating vibrant, personal friendship with God. Because of this said dualism, we’ve somewhat delegated the primary joy of hearing God’s voice to the man on the stage.

“Religion builds an entire industry on separation and dualism.” -unknown

To be honest, I myself thought the same way for many years. In fact, for a good season my life I imagined “full-time church ministry” to be the most sacred of all duties, and quite frankly, what any wise person should be aspiring to do with their life. This explains why I spent much of my young adult life striving to get into church ministry as a full-time vocation. I thought if I could just get out of my (“secular”) day job and into some sort of (“sacred”) church ministry, then life would be so much better. Sadly, I thought that anything outside of the church walls was mundane at best—you know, not near as “holy.” As you can tell, I saw through a very dualistic (sacred/secular) lens. Looking back, I see that this mindset robbed me of enjoying the many “mundane” moments that were right underneath my nose the whole time.

Anyways, I am glad to announce that, for the past several years, the Father has been so patient and gracious to chip away at that dualistic notion in my life. This wonderful breakthrough has led me to the place of now seeing all things as sacred. In other words, I now see life as a whole; one canvas in which the Father is weaving his goodness through and through. I’m beginning to see Christ in all things, especially what I would’ve previously labeled as “secular.” This transformation has lended me the grace to love and be present in a much broader way.

I’m discovering that the ever-faithful, always-present eyes of the Lord are constantly searching and looking for those who will express their love for him by way of participation in their day-to-day lives—even as mundane as it may seem.

WHAT ABOUT THIS ‘SECULAR’ THING?

Let’s look at this term secular a little closer. One dictionary defines it as “attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.” Do you see how the term secular has separation and dualism at its core? Okay, I understand how we could possibly live free from religiosity, but to have no spiritual basis…seriously!? I’m not sure how that’s even possible, seeing that we are innately spiritual beings (we have the Spirit of God residing at the very core of our being). Therefore, I find it utterly impossible to remove the spiritual from our lives.

Inside of this “sacred versus secular” dualism is the lie that the Father chooses not to involve himself in the mundane, day-to-day details; unless of course it’s something related to “spiritual things” like church, bible study, fasting, prayer and so on. This sort of concept somehow communicates that the Father only hones in on us when we’re doing activities like reading the scriptures, preaching the gospel or singing songs at church. It’s as if he’s saying: “Listen, I’m pretty busy right now, but when you decide to do your devotional, I’ll come back and hang out. Until then, I’ll be over here waiting.”

But, I have good news:

The whole earth is the Fathers dance floor. From the mundane to the miraculous, he is in everything. Seeing this is to experience inexpressible joy.

IN ALL THINGS

Let me state this very plainly: Since we’re in Christ, and Christ is in us, everything we do is sacred. In other words, for the dad who’s working 60 hours a week to provide for his family; man, that’s worship. For the mom rocking her newborn baby; you talk about beautiful in the eyes of the Father. And for the child who honors their parents; now that’s what I’m talking about. Listen, I’m all for good church meetings, prayer gatherings and bible studies, but I’m also for married couples taking vacations, and families taking strolls in the park. Those things are just as spiritual and “sacred.” Besides, if the earth is the the Fathers dance floor, you better believe we can connect with him in more ways than in a building with a group of people on a Wednesday or Sunday.

Paul said it this way: “Whatever you do, do as unto the Lord.” Whatever you do…yes, that includes being kind to the cashier at the grocery store. For the husband, this translates to loving and serving your wife. For those working in the marketplace, that means honoring your boss, meeting deadlines, and being kind to that co-worker. Even though seemingly mundane, all of these things is the beautiful act of sharing in life with the Father, Son and Spirit. Beloved, everything you do unto him is sacred. It is worship. For this, he is empowering you to do whatever you do, and is why Paul says: “You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.”

As I close, allow me to drop this thought in your mind to ponder:

I wonder if the Father was just as pleased with Jesus hammering nails as he was when casting out devils and healing the sick.

-RA

*this blog post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, “Fascinated: Living in Awe of the Father.” Click here for more info.