Why You Need to Be Far More Concerned About Your Problems than About “the Biggest Problems Facing Christians Now”

All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

With the multitude of Christian experts about virtually anything online, it can sometimes feel like your life is accomplishing almost nothing for Christ’s glory. When you see all these “well-educated” professors, scholars, researchers, speakers, teachers, and preachers constantly publishing the latest insight on understanding the world aright, or living a fruitful life for the Lord, you can easily lose sight of what the Lord is doing in your life, and the lives of those in your life. But the Scriptures promise us that every member of the body of Christ is essential to God’s work on earth, and that He doesn’t waste any of the lives of His children.

I was recently studying Paul’s words to the Ephesians, and he prays for something that would help us all to more greatly appreciate our little individual lives. He prays that his disciples would “know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18b-19a). The topic I have in mind has more to do with the last two of these knowledge spheres – the riches of our glory, and God’s power toward us.

There are a couple of possible meanings of “His inheritance in the saints,” but my informed opinion of these words is that it’s talking about God’s inheritance which consists of His saints. That is, we as His children are His treasured possession that awaits His ultimate enjoyment at the end of time. As such, each of us in Christ are of inestimable worth to God’s work in the world. And this is also why He’s directing a “power toward us who believe” that has a “surpassing greatness.” What does it surpass? Any power we can imagine. This means that God is using His power on us to make us like Jesus, and to eternally impact people’s lives. Paul elaborates on this power in his letter to the Philippians, where he explains that,

“. . . it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” – Phil. 2: 13

And note that there are no conditions we have to meet for these two descriptions of God’s power. He is exercising His power in, for, and through us regardless of our relative obedience. In fact, it’s because of His power in us that we fear, love, and obey Him. These truths should always be at the back of our minds when we look at the seeming accomplishments and wisdom that gets displayed by Internet influencers, teachers, and opinionists. Especially if they appear to be extremely popular. No matter how much exposure an online personality, celebrity, or elite gets on the Internet, they’re no more important than you.

And why are you important again? Because, if you are trusting in the Lord Jesus for God’s redemption, then you are a child of God, a part of Christ’s body on earth, and a living temple of God’s Holy Spirit. And as the Ruler of all things, He has placed you right where you are, with the people around whom you live, to fulfill whatever callings He’s given you to accomplish. This means that no matter how small, unimportant, or uninfluential you may seem, you have a divinely-ordained mission to serve the Lord by serving those around you. You are an essential part of your family, your church, your community, and your vocation. This is especially true if you have children, are a church leader, or a community leader. You are called to be faithful where you are, and with what you have, not how other brethren are called.

Given the popularity of highly intellectual and wise-sounding “experts” on the Internet, this is especially relevant with regards to Christian bloggers, podcasters, and online teachers. Many of them seek to diagnose and address the biggest problems facing western Christians today. They often use loads of research, past experience in official ministries, and academic jargon. Yet they are fallible and biased men and women, who often get things wrong. This also goes for the endless news writers and announcers that constantly point out the problems and failures disturbing people’s lives. We can spend a lot of time looking to understand many of the problems going on in the Christian and non-Christian worlds, but this presents many dangers to us. We’re constantly tempted to treat other people’s problems as our own, when our own are very different.

And our inordinate fascination with the problems facing other believers and fellow citizens betrays a subtle undervaluing of our own personal lives. We tend to spend far too much time learning about what’s wrong with other people, and seeing if that’s wrong with those around us. This causes us to spend far too little time taking sober evaluation of our precious lives, relationships, obligations, and callings. The truth is that we often like to learn about the problems facing others because we are hesitant to face our own. The Scriptures and the godly examples in them teach us that our first concern is to make sure that our lives are blameless and beyond reproach, and that we are treating our friends and family members rightly. Each day should include a time where we bring our own issues, concerns, and sins, before the Lord, and ask for His help to respond to them as He has taught.

Our tendency to be dragged by the Internet into concerns that have little to nothing to do with us is yet another good reason to devote ourselves to learning and applying the Scriptures. Daily meditation on God’s Word will keep us concerned with the things that are most important in our lives, and enable us to grow in our ability to act like our Lord. Most of us would do well to replace some of our Internet time with Bible and prayer time. And doing so has the great potential to show us that most of what the Christian Internet elites and experts are saying is either mostly misguided assertions, or irrelevant to our personal issues. And Scripture will also increasingly show us more of God’s will for us, and how we’re habitually failing to do it.

In sum, please remember that your little life, your little communities, and your little services for others are what God has given you to manage according to His Word. And in so doing, you are influencing the eternal destines of those around you, as well as your own. We aren’t called to know all the problems in the world or the body of Christ, but to know the problems we and our community members have. And then to use the time, thinking, and prayer, to work toward solutions. The Internet researchers, wise men, and pontificators may know a lot, but they usually don’t understand the nuances and dark crevices of your life. You need the Scriptures and devoted brethren in Christ for that. So ignore the distractions the Internet entices you with, and focus on increasingly obeying the Lord Jesus Christ, for the joy of your soul, the good of your neighbor, and the pleasure of our God and Father. Strive to know Him, and you’ll increasingly learn all you need to know for Christlike living.