Two Kingdoms

As I mentioned, I had an epiphany of sorts last week.  I have struggled for years with what has been my greatest failure in life.  I have even been able to find the flaw in me which allowed failure to exist - a pragmatic upbringing, a pragmatic discipleship, a pragmatic Church.  Even though I have suspected for decades that pragmatism is the road to Hell - I had nothing to work with in my mind on this topic.

For as long as I have been a Christian, I have found the conflicting dual nature of Christianity to be both frustrating and confusing.  My mentors both in and out of the Hutterite group I was associated with had nothing to offer as to how to answer the question.  Their ultimate answer was Pragmatism.  But, there was an answer that the once Christian church of the West went with in my lifetime - and I was appalled but I could not say why.  I could see the symptoms - I just had no idea as to why the church had gone sideways so far, so fast.

And you even know almost everything I am going to say but the perspective may not be the same ...

Kingdom of the World
It is where we live.
You work a job.
You manage your resources (hopefully wisely).
You establish your family.
You do what we all do on a daily basis.

God's Kingdom
It is a place where we live - only we do not live like it!
Everything in this physical existence is only temporary.
What has any value is what God defines.

So two conflicting views: one from a physical world perspective and the other from God's.  But, only one is valid.  No, the World is not the answer, nor does it offer any eternal answers.  Sorry 20th century theology, which sold our God for the pleasures of this world, got it wrong.

How are we reconcile this?

It involves your choices.
If you what you choose is for yourself - you are choosing the World.
If your choice serves others - you maybe choosing God.

If your goal is to advance  yourself in this world,  you have your answer.
If your goal is to advance yourself in the eyes of others, you still fail.
If money, sex, power, etc are the goal, you fail again.
If building that all important nest egg is the goal, you fail as well.
There is nothing you can do in this world which will bring you success in God's Kingdom.

Like many, I thought - "If I could be best man I can be, The best friend I can be, The best brother, The best son, The best youth teacher, The best computer nerd for my clients ....." - I will have achieved what is needed to please and prepare for what God has next for me .....  And I worked very hard to be the best ... at everything.  Of course that is a recipe for failure, and failure frustrates me - sigh ...

And I am very trusting.  I am easy to lie to because I will trust those whom appear to be truthful - and - I have found this nature to be my biggest stumbling stone!  And, I hate failure ...

I have always desired to serve God and God alone.  Somewhere in there I became too concerned about the World and its values and its systems.  So where should my eyes have been?

Certainly God does not need the world's best computer nerd, though He certainly gave me my abilities (and rewarded with me patents!).  God does perhaps want me to be the best at interpersonal skills and dealing with others, because His Kingdom is about others, not me.

In fact, there is very little you can do in this life which is going to be of any eternal value - with the sole exception of investing your time and resources in others.  Everything else you do, every other choice is part of the wasted resources God has given you - to be held against you!

Well, working in 15 minute spurts, it has taken three days to type this!  And now, I really must sleep .......