If you’ve read my book, Beautiful Interference, then you’ve read the story about me and a friend hiking in Colorado. We wanted to hike Mount Beirstadt and Mount Evans the first week of June. We found our entry point, parked the SUV, and started down to the valley floor. These two Oklahoma boys were not ready for the thin air and the June weather.
We crossed the valley floor and began our accent up Beirstadt. We were exhausted and out of water by the time we summited so we decided to go back to the car. Only problem was, once on the valley floor, we could not find which gorge we came down and it had already started snowing.
With patience and a lot of lucky guess-work, our tired, oxygen-deprived bodies found our way back to the SUV.
Spiritually speaking, that’s what happens when we get off the path as we follow Jesus. We have these grand ideas of how things will go but the minute we step away from the safety of Jesus, everything goes chaotic. The Apostle John calls us to stay focused on Jesus, to stay on the path and don’t let anything distract you from leaving the safety of Jesus.
In 1 John, John tells followers there are three things that can pull you away from following Jesus closely. John writes in 1 John 2:16 that “pleasure, possessions, and pride” can lure you off the path that Jesus is on. He reminds us there is a epithumia or hyper-desire in all of us that we must keep in check. Our hyper-desire must be Jesus above all else.
Pleasure could be just about anything. Sexual pleasure is the one that comes to mind. We all as humans have a desire for instant gratification. Inappropriate relationships with people outside our marriage, dangerous late night excursions on our computers to sites that should be untouched by Jesus-followers, and lustful thoughts should be things we must guard against as we follow Jesus on the road.
Our possessions can get the best of us. Collecting things is the American way and if we are not careful, those shiny things will pull us away from our commitment to follow Jesus. There is nothing bad in and of itself about owning things but when we make that the center of our life and our focus, that’s when we know we’ve left the road of Jesus and are on the road the world offers.
Finally pride and ego will get the best of us. Our pride ends up being all about us. I get prideful of my race or skin color. Right now across America, ethnic pride is at an all time high and it creates resentment of other people who are also made in God’s image. Our socio-economic pride can cause us to look down our noses at folks who don’t have as big a bank account as we do. My achievements equally can make me puff out my chest in comparison. But all my degrees and awards mean nothing when falling the risen Savior.
May your shine like Jesus. May the “shiny” things the world offers pale in comparison to the Son of God. May your hyper-desire be for Jesus and him alone. Don’t get detracted by the world. It will all fade away. But God and his desire will live forever. May you find the courage to stay on the path and shine like Jesus! Blessings on your journey.