The Walk Away

First, I will be back this week on a limited basis. It's Christmas, we moved and we are trying to get settled, so it will be sporadic. For today though, I want to thank my friend Neal's beautiful wife April for this next post. She is one heck of a writer. Check out her BLOG.

Most of the time, when we read stories of “God calling,” we focus on what God’s call cost the men and women who obeyed. God’s call cost Abraham security with his family; God’s call cost Esther comfort in her position of authority; God’s call cost Mary her reputation; God’s call cost Paul his freedom and eventually his life. The cost is usually what we pay attention to.

There is an untold story, though, that is absolutely essential if we are going to maintain life-long consistency in responding to God’s call. It’s after the call. It’s after the struggle of whether to heed and obey. It’s after the adrenaline-rushing moment of others realizing what you’re doing. It’s after the attention goes from you to God. It’s after the sense of yes!-it-was-worth-it.

It’s the walk away.

When God calls, he calls us toward something. It may be a physical move to another city, it may be a changed habit, it may be a shift in the dynamics of a relationship, it may be a form of denying yourself. In the act of moving towards that something, we are walking away from something else.

When the dust settles, when the decision is made, when the words have been spoken, we find ourselves a little further from the norm and from what’s socially accepted. Although we’re closer to God than ever before, there can still be a sense of loneliness. The friends who once partied with you cannot understand why you won’t. The coworkers you used to gossip with don’t even include you in regular conversation because of your change. Even Christian friends aren’t comfortable with your new convictions and are quick to drop a sarcastic line to let you know.

It’s in the walk away from our old lives that we must be on guard from a fearsome enemy—pride. It was pride that we wrestled with in order to initially obey God. And now pride will try to seduce again. This time, it’s in the form of spiritual pride. After answering God’s call and embracing the change, pride will try to offer us comfort for our loneliness. Spiritual pride soothes the ego and feeds an us-versus-them mentality. It encourages us to judge the ones who haven’t walked away or answered a similar call. The worse thing about spiritual pride is it keeps us from drawing near to God with our pain.

The difference between Paul and the Pharisees that Jesus condemned was simply in the walk away. Paul left family, left political and religious positions of authority, and left places of comfort all in responding to God’s call. When he walked away from those things, he bathed himself in humility and filled his heart with praise for God. He never forgot where he came from. The Pharisees, however, in their acts of righteousness, succumbed to spiritual pride during the walk away. Both Paul and the Pharisees knew the word of God. Both obeyed and made great sacrifices. The difference? One kept worshipping when the miracle was over and the other boasted of its success.

When God calls, we are blessed in our obedience. The Father smiles, the hosts of heaven pause and the world takes note. When the moment is over, though, we are wise to guard our hearts from pride. It’s not only our moving towards what God calls us to that counts as worship. It’s also in the walk away.