Just Do Something!

At NEXT, Kevin DeYoung gave a men's seminar called Just Do Something derived from a book he wrote of the same name. To make sure you get the point, I'm going to first summarize the seminar with one line:

Literally for the love of God, get up and just do something!

Before I continue, I want to just preemptively give a disclaimer that neither I or Kevin is advocating that all the guys that read this just go out and be thoughtless, or that God isn’t pleased with you unless you go out and do everything, or that God is absent from your life after you become a Christian. This message addresses the need for men who are idle to become leaders and to not be paralyzed with the fear that their decisions may not be in God’s will.

Directly addressing some of us guys out there, myself included, who hold back or procrastinate in life waiting for some sign from God to tell them where to go. We "tinker" with things but never commit.

"We 'tinker'...that's what describes our generation. We tinker around with jobs, with schools, with girlfriends, with churches. We don't know what we're doing except we're not doing much of anything..."

You know what the results of that are?

"In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men...completed the major transitions into adulthood by age 30. These transitions include leaving home, finishing school, becoming financially independent, getting married, and having a child. By the year 2000, only 46 percent of women completed these transitions by age 30, and only31 percent of men."

Certainly there are many valid reasons for people who have not completed these transitions by age 30. We are in tough financial times, and sometimes getting married is just hard. The desire is there, but it just isn't working out that well. Kevin says that this doesn't necessarily mean "...that you're a moocher, a lazy bum, and a vagabond…” but then goes on to say ”…but it could mean that." Legitimate excuses aside, the fact is we have delayed making decisions and settling down, opting instead to wait for 100 percent assurance of what God wants you to do with your life. Today, we are more preoccupied than ever with seeking God’s will. Whatever the reasons may be (Kevin gives 5 reasons in his talk), there are two end results that come from overdependence on waiting for the will of God:

1) Some of us are stuck with a passion for seeking God’s will. We have so many opportunities after high school or college, but with that opportunity comes anxiety, indecision, and confusion, so we develop a desire and passion for seeking the will of God. We are too afraid of taking charge of our own lives and make decisions and to take up the role of men as defined in the Bible.

2) For some of us, our search for the will of God has only encouraged us to postpone growing up. It is often a convenient “out” to allow Christians to flow through life without direction or purpose. It allows us to “…pass off our instability, our inconsistency, our endless self-exploration, and we say ‘I’m just trying to find God’s will’ as if not making up our minds and meandering through life were marks of spiritual sensitivity.” We are perfectly content with where we are, and use God as an excuse to continue our lifestyle.

And the problem with both of these is that they do not exercise the clearest revelation of God’s will for us that we have from scriptures. We can not be sanctified and find more joy in Christ if we are afraid to do anything, or if we are so content with MarioKart, Smash Brothers, or Halo that we can not stop staring at the TV. Moreover, even the mentality that is behind this way of thinking reveal our sinful desire to have God guide us instead of us trusting in the promises given to us in the Bible. This means that the desire for us to have our future revealed to us or to refuse to do anything without the expressed, explicit, 100 percent consent of God is in itself, a sinful desire.

So finally, I want everyone to consider these two things:

1) Esther from the Bible is probably more of a man then most Christian men today. Esther goes to see the king, and she says “If I perish, I perish.” There was no sign from God, but she still resolved to go forth with her decision, and in doing so teaches us that obsessing about the future is not how God intended for us to live. She did not obsess with her future or what she should do. She did what she thought she had to do, and this ought to be easier for us to do today! The worst thing that can ever happen to us as Christians is to die, which in reality is the BEST thing that can ever happen to us.

2) To live an idle life, even if it’s because you’re waiting for God, doesn’t produce any fruit. Ultimately, an idle life doesn’t display the freedom in Christ that we really have! As mentioned before, our greatest danger (death) is now our greatest reward (eternal life). What more freedom could we have? We ought to be doing whatever it is we can to experience God as much as possible. I’m not saying to take reckless or needless risks, but to take risks that increase our Joy in Christ.

The bottom line is that for a Christian, living a life in dependence of knowing God’s future for you or a life of idleness because of that is a sinful life. It shows a lack of trust in God who holds your future, and it shows a lack of desire and understanding for the gospel because the joy of Christ is not being pursued.

“This is the will of God: your sanctification…” – 1 Thessalonians 4:3