Sticking Jesus in a corner

I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

Saturday evening, Bob goes to the bar and gets so drunk that a friend has to drive him home. Sunday morning he comes to church, admits he’s a sinner, and receives forgiveness. Sunday afternoon, Bob sits down with some beers to watch a doubleheader on TV, but misses the end of the second game because he has passed out from drinking.

Friday afternoon, Jane gets her weekly paycheck and takes it to the bank. On Saturday, she buys a fancy new dress, new shoes, and a matching handbag. Sunday morning she goes to church and when the offering plate comes to her, she puts in five dollars. When she gets off from work Monday afternoon, Jane doesn't feel like cooking so she buys a couple of pizzas to take home for her family.

Evan likes to read—he always has a paperback with him wherever he goes. He reads all sorts of things—westerns, mysteries, espionage thrillers and horror. But you never see him holding a Bible or any Christian literature—the only time that he reads anything religious is in church on Sunday morning.

Dorothy has a lot of friends; if she isn’t out with the girls, she is on the phone or chatting on the Internet. She talks about all sorts of things—the ups and downs of her love life, the newest fashions that have caught her eye, the family that just moved in down the street. Sometimes she even talks about deep stuff—what’s going on with the school board or in the legislature. But there is one topic she avoids: she never talks about her faith in Jesus. She saves that for church on Sunday morning.

Christians are all around us, but most times you would hardly know it. They keep their identity secret, only revealing their ties to Jesus during the time when they are in church. While in worship, they are sorry for their sins. While in church, they are concerned about whether the sanctuary is in good repair and if the bills are getting paid. While in church, they listen to God’s word with interest and pray that someone would bring that saving Word to unbelievers before death claims them forever. While in church, these people think and act like Christians.

But after church, they stop thinking about Jesus. After church, their behavior looks no different than the behavior of any unbeliever. And so we have Christians who go back to work and cheat their customers with overpriced goods or shoddy labor. We have Christians who go back home and never mention Jesus’ name to their children. We have Christians who spend hundreds of dollars on cigarettes each year, but grumble when the church asks for help in getting out of debt. We have Christians who never pray or open their Bible or read devotional literature like Portals of Prayer. We have Christians who think that religion is what you do on Sunday morning, not how you live your life throughout the week.

How can this happen? It happens because of something called ‘compartmentalization.’ Do you know why everyone thought that the Titanic was unsinkable? It was because of compartmentalization. That ocean liner had a series of bulkheads throughout the hull; from stem to stern, the Titanic was one watertight compartment after another. The theory was that if one compartment sprung a leak, only that one compartment would flood because each one was sealed off from the others. As long as the flooding could not spread, the ship would not sink.

We have been trained to compartmentalize our lives. One compartment is our life at work or school. Another compartment is our life at home. A third compartment is our social life. And of course, one compartment contains our relationship with Christ.

We are sold on the idea that compartmentalization is healthy. When you go home, you should leave your work at the office. When you go to work, leave your personal issues at home. Whatever you are doing, don’t let unrelated problems from elsewhere in your life come in and distract you.

Which is fine in theory, but it doesn’t work. When you sit down for break with your coworkers, how much time is spent grumbling about your personal life? If you have had a terrible day at the office, it is very easy to be harsh with your children when you finally get home. And compartmentalization can invite trouble. If you think of your relationship with your spouse as something reserved for home, it becomes easier to fall into an affair at the office—after all, your office life has nothing to do with your home life.

When we try to compartmentalize God, we are in very dangerous waters. You shall not steal (Exodus 10:15): does that command from God only apply to Sunday mornings? Or consider these words from heaven: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). Does God give you permission to put Him in a compartment that does not touch your work life, your home life or your social life?

In spite of compartmentalization, the Titanic sank. Why? Because when it struck the iceberg, a long gash was torn in the hull which flooded multiple compartments. Compartmentalization could not save the ship from sinking, not when many compartments were breached at the same time.

Sin is our iceberg. Sin is not just a problem on Sunday morning; sin is a problem at work, at home and at play. Sin tears gaping holes in every compartment of our lives, and if we are not rescued we will quickly sink and perish.

Jesus is our Savior. He has the power to walk on water and not sink; He has the power to reach out and lift us to safety. Sin has never been able to sink Jesus—not only did He resist every temptation Satan threw at Him, Jesus defeated the power of sin forever by dying on the cross.

Jesus never compartmentalized; whether He was working, resting, or socializing, every aspect of His life was in tune with His Father’s will. When He was at work teaching, Jesus said The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work (John 14:10). When our Lord needed to take a break and get refreshed, Luke tells us crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:15-16). And when our Master attended social events, He always took the opportunity to offer hope to people oppressed by sin; one example comes from Matthew chapter nine: While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." No matter what He was doing, Jesus’ life was characterized by His prayer to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane: may your will be done (Matthew 26:42).

We need to follow Jesus’ example. Paul says, do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need to stop compartmentalizing; you cannot put God in a box! God fills the universe, and when you are a Christian God fills every minute of your life.

You cannot compartmentalize your behavior. You can’t go to church and say that you are a sinner, only to leave church and sin without hesitation or guilt. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. Social drinking is acceptable to God, but drunkenness is not. If you cannot stop yourself from crossing that line, then stay away from the liquor that tempts you. This applies to any temptation harmful to the body; remember Paul’s warning in 1^st Corinthians chapter six: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

You cannot compartmentalize your use of money. You can’t spend money on luxury items for yourself and then be stingy in supporting the work of God’s church. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. There is nothing wrong with eating out occasionally, but when God only gets the leftovers from your paycheck, your priorities are wrong. Moses said, remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). Psalm 106 says, give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. And Paul writes in 2^nd Corinthians chapter nine, God loves a cheerful giver.

You cannot compartmentalize what you read or watch or listen to. The human mind is not like a computer. If you download a file that you don’t like, you can just delete it; but if you read or hear a disturbing idea, there is no way to remove it from your memory. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. You can and should educate yourself, and reading is an excellent way to do this—but you need regular exposure to God’s word so that you can spot evil ideas and respond to them appropriately. Colossians chapter two says, Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

You cannot compartmentalize your relationships. You cannot expect your relationships to be healthy if Christ is out of the picture. Without Christ, we selfishly use relationships to make ourselves feel good. Without Christ, we find it almost impossible to forgive others when they hurt us. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. The best relationships are those between Christians. When you both know that you are sinners who by God’s mercy in Christ have been forgiven, it is easier to bear with one another’s faults. When you are with a Christian, you can talk about anything, including important things like facing temptation, overcoming guilt, and dealing with the pain of death. Paul writes, God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

But what if there is someone close to you who is not a believer? You can take steps to deepen your relationship—you can introduce that person to the Savior. Talk about the love that fills your life because of Jesus. Share the comfort and hope you receive from being a child of God. Invite your dear friend or relative to come with you to God’s house, where the Spirit of God offers faith to those who are willing to listen. Don’t assume that this person you care about will stumble on to the way to heaven without your help; remember what Jesus said: wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

Don’t try to compartmentalize your life. You can’t stick Jesus in a corner and only talk to Him on Sunday morning. Invite the Lord into every part of your life. Ask Him to guide your decision-making at work. Ask Him to guide your behavior while out with your friends. Give Him time every day while you are at home, through devotions and prayer. Being a Christian isn’t restricted to Sunday mornings; being a Christian is who you are, every moment of every day.