Convenient belief

We live in a world that operates a great deal on "smoke and mirrors". For instance, our banking institutions are discovering that one cannot ignore sound financial principles in business. A false economy was created by cheap and easily available credit. However the lenders should have known that loaning people money that had no ability to repay can not be a sustainable practice. However, instead of operating according to truth, they created an illusion of something in order to justify their continued behavior.

Unfortunately, I find the same kinds of wishful illusions in the church world as well. It never ceases to amaze me how people can declare that they believe in something deeply but when that "deeply held belief" becomes inconvenient, suddenly they no longer hold to that belief. I call it the phenomena of convenient belief.

Convenient belief is never centered on God. The foundation of convenient belief is self (or as I like to put it, the self-god). This kind of belief maybe defended vociferously at times. However the since basis for convenient belief is not built on truth as defined by God but on the preservation of self, it can change quickly. The self-god seeks to self-preserve, self-determine, and self-justify at all costs. Therefore nothing is as important as self.

However, the self-god also desires to hide behind a facade of godliness and goodness. Therefore the self-god will gravitate toward beliefs that benefit self while appearing God-centered. The intensity with which the self-god defends these convenient beliefs is directly tied to the amount of benefit received from defending them. If there is no longer any personal benefit from a particular belief, that belief is quickly discarded.

For instance, we frequently pride ourselves in the fact that we are full of grace toward people. We put ourselves forward as loving people unconditionally. However, when the time comes to put our reputation on the line in the restoration of those who have become lost, we quickly distance ourselves from those people.

On the other hand, belief centered on God, belief that arises from literally and practically following Jesus will always lead to the death of the self-god. While following Jesus transforms and adjusts our belief system, those changes and adjustments are not based on convenience. They occur as a natural part of the transformation that occurs as Christ is formed within us.