Practical Christian Living

In our Wednesday Night Bible Study @ 7 pm (every Wednesday), we've been studying the Letter of James. This letter has challenged me in areas that many of us struggle with on a daily basis. I teach and try to model a level of spiritual maturity for others to follow that is practical as well as doable. In other words, I think we've made Christian living entirely too complicated. We’ve placed religious rules, traditions, philosophical opinions, by-laws, church attendance, religious practices, and Robert Rules of Order as a potential gauge for measuring a person’s and/or own spiritual growth. We use our own spiritual maturity to measure someone else’s growth. If they don’t do it like we do then they have not grown in Christ. Accountability is no longer accountability for the sake helping each other become more Christ-like. Accountability has now become a judging match between 2 people that eventually creates fights and quarrels (James 4:1). Let me caution you to be careful judging someone else’s development against yours for when you place your supposed maturity next to the holiness of God you will discover you still have little more growing to do.

In addition, we allow supernatural events to be our gauge for measuring our spiritual growth. The more of the "supernatural" (whatever that means to you) we experience the more we feel we have grown in Christ. So, being healed physically, financial prosperity, near death experiences, and so many others, we assume, are valid experiences to measure our spiritual growth. Don't get me wrong, I do believe God can do anything! But are our Christian experiences enough to measure our growth in Christ. But what happens when the experiences run out? What do have then as a gauge? Something to think about.

This letter is teaching me that Christian living is practical and doable. The measurement for spiritual maturity rest in practical Christian living day-by-day. James writes; “So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything (NLT)”.

We’ve all asked this question (or one similar); “Am I growing as a Christian?” But when you ask this question what type of answer are you expecting? Are you expecting a heavenly voice to trumpet down and say; “This is my son/daughter in whom I am well pleased?” Are you looking for others to validate your spiritual maturity with a word of congratulations? Are you living a false spiritual maturity that on the outside says “I have everything together” but on the end side you’re just as sinful as can be?

Whatever the case, I believe the only real measurement for spiritual development is in areas of daily living disciplines. The letter of James shows us practical daily disciplines as a means to measure our spiritual development. I want to outline the book of James in question form to help each us look at our spiritual development in a different light.

How do you respond to the struggles of life? James 1:1-4
What is your process for making decisions? James 1:5-8
What is you financial goal in life, to be rich or honor God? James 1:9-12
Do you own up to your mistakes? James 1:13-16
How do you view God’s blessings? James 1:17
Are you a quick tempered person? James 1:18-20
Are you honest with yourself about your spiritual development? James 1:21-27
Do you show favoritism? James 2:1-17
Do you trust God at all cost with everything? James 2:18-26
Can you control your tongue (WOW, this will show who’s growing)? James 3:1-12
Are you a selfish person? James 3:13-18
Do you like to fight? James 4:1-10
Do you respect other people? James 4:11-12
Are you impatient? James 4:13-17
What’s your focus here on earth, temporal satisfaction or eternal security? James 5:1-11
Are you an indecisive person? James 5:12
How is your prayer life? James 5:13-20
Can you be trusted? James 5:16
Do you believe God to do what you’ve requested? James 5:17-18
Are you on speaking terms with God? James 5:19-20

Will we ever reach spiritual maturity at it’s best? I don’t know but we can try our best.