The Right Things for the Right Reasons

     Between the weather and my schedule, I don’t always have the opportunity to get outside for the exercise I need.  For this reason we have a treadmill in our basement. It has a whole host of gizmos and gadgets attached to it.  It will measure your distance, speed, heart rate and calories burned.  You can program it for various types of workouts and tell it how much energy you want to expend.  Now, no matter what the conditions outside or the time of day, I have no excuse for not getting in at least a few miles of walking or jogging.  At least I shouldn’t have – but truth be told, I still don’t get on there as often as I would like and definitely not as often as I should.

     Yet, there is another type of treadmill that I am most pleased to no longer be spending time on: the performance treadmill.  Yes, there was a time when I was logging countless hours and miles – literally wearing out myself – and getting absolutely nowhere.  I was worse than a dog chasing its tail: I stayed extremely busy but didn’t get anywhere or accomplish anything of worth.  But unlike the dog, I didn’t know when to stop.  And while the dog did what he did for enjoyment, I was doing it all in an attempt to find approval.

     That’s right; I felt the need to earn the approval of others – even people I didn’t know.  My estimation of my worth was inherently tied up in earning the favor of others through my good deeds, my kind words, my compassion and generosity.  And unlike the treadmill in my basement, I had no control of this one.  Once I got on, it was as though it had a mind of its own; I couldn’t program it or slow it down and there was no way to get off (so I thought) without doing damage to myself.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?  Is this an experience you can relate to?  If so, there is good news.  You can get off the performance treadmill.  Even more, you must get off if you desire to experience the joy and abundant life promised to those who love and seek after God.

     Consider these words of Paul (who himself once struggled with performance issues):  for in Him we live and move and exist [Acts 17:28]. This is what we must get into our heads and hearts: God loves us as much on our bad days as He does on our good ones. Really? How is that possible? Because His acceptance is based on our position (in Christ) not our condition (in the flesh).

     This truth should be extremely liberating! Why? Because now we see that our worth is not based on what we do, but on who we are in Christ. God actually assigned value to you by allowing Jesus to die for you. “But I cannot believe that God does not care about what I do?” You are right! God wants you to do good works – but He does not want you to depend on them; He wants you to do them out of love for Him. Once you understand your position, who you are in Christ, you can get off the performance treadmill and begin doing the right things for the right reasons. From experience I can tell you, life is so much more enjoyable off the performance treadmill…now if only I could find my way onto that other one a bit more often!