Mulligan

A couple of weeks ago at Campus Focus, Brian Kunkler said, “Seriously guys, how big do our biceps need to be to reach into the refridgerator and open a jar of pickles?” Implying that it was wrong for guys to work for bigger biceps. This week, he asked for a Mulligan because he believes that Christians should do whatever they do for the glory of God, even if that “whatever” is working for bigger biceps.

Brian talked about Colossians 3. He sees a grid of three things that Christians should run their activities through;

  1. “Put to death” things that go against the revealed moral will of God. The things listed in Colossians 3.5-8 that go against the moral will of God include; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed (which is idolatry), anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language.
  2. Whose glory are we seeking? God has given us value as human beings and it is not anything we have to work for or earn. Colossians 3.11 says that Christ takes away any human measures of value- everyone is equally valuable (student, non-student, homeless, healthy, black, white, gay, straight…). Whatever Christians do should not be to earn respect from people, but to give glory to God.
  3. “Clothe yourselves with” virtues of God’s character. The virtues listed in Colossians 3.12 include; compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness (as Christ forgave you), and love, which binds all of these virtues together in unity.

To sum up these three parts of the grid, Brian points to Colossians 3.17; “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

The second part of the grid hit me really hard. Everything that I have been doing this semester has been motivated by a desire to earn people’s respect (my professors, my residents, my boss, my girlfriend, my small group, my roommates, etc). Something that Brian noticed, that I completely agree with, is that doing something to try to earn someone’s respect has a tendency to destroy the pleasure of that activity.

I’ve come to the realization that there are some things that God hasn’t blessed me with (such as big biceps). If I am seeking to bless myself with these things I am probably not seeking God’s glory (so that people will worship God when they see how wonderfully He has made me) but I am seeking my own glory (so that people will respect me when they see the man that I have made myself to be).

(Check out the weekly podcast of Campus Focus to hear Brian’s message from this week as well as previous weeks.)