From Doing to Done...

Our lives consist of doing doing doing. In order to be something, culture tells us to “DO MORE!” “TRY HARDER!” “GET MORE!” and “DON’T HOLD BACK!” Society screams at us to follow OUR hearts and OUR dreams so WE can get to the top—regardless of how it impacts those around us.
Ironically, potholes of suicide, depression, broken families, and addictive behaviors line the paths of history. Men and women immensely successful in the world’s eyes suffer greater than children stricken with poverty in third world countries.
But their suffering is internal. Over time they realize the world has lied to them. Monetary or fame success fails to give them relief—fails to soothe them with the peace, tranquility, and purpose they desperately crave.
Sorry, but you’ve been lied to. Doing more, trying harder, getting famous and accumulating more stuff cannot satisfy. Those pursuits are earthly and temporal. Human beings are both physical and eternal. Treating an eternal issue with a physical treatment is like using a bandaid to cover a mortal wound. Doesn’t work. History proves it.
Satisfaction, peace, a sense of worth and purpose are eternal issues. We can’t buy them at a grocery store, nor can we do more to accomplish them.
Doing more results in accumulating more, but what we’re accumulating is frail and temporary.
By the way, this applies to Christians too. Ever tried grocery shopping for peace, holiness and the antidotes of greed, selfishness, pride and lying alike? Maybe not literally, but we do figuratively all the time. Pastor says we need to stop lying, so what do we do? Try to stop lying. He says we need to have healthy marriages, so we take our spouses out to dinner and bring home roses more often. We need to address our greediness! We give more to the poor.
What we’re dealing with here are fruit and root issues. Fruit issues are ones we see on the surface—the lying, cheating, selfishness and greedy behavior. Since these are the ones we see, we tend to deal with them directly. We try harder not to lie, cheat, be selfish or greedy. That’s like cutting a weed. Sure, it’ll help for a day or two, but it certainly doesn’t address the problem.
The root issue of ALL our sin is idolatry—it’s trying to put someone or something in the place of Christ in our hearts and lives. We lie because we want others’ approval. Others’ opinions take priority over the approval of God we already have in Christ.
Idolatry is manifested in millions of ways, but it is the root issue that needs to be treated.
Doing more, trying harder, and accumulating stuff CANNOT deal with the root issue of idolatry in our lives. Doing, trying and accumulating actually FEEDS the root issue and makes it grow deeper! Not only is it not the antidote, it’s the fuel that makes the issue worse!
The true antidote for the root problem of idolatry in our lives is the Gospel. Our compulsive efforts to do, try, and accumulate cease when we turn our eyes to what Jesus has DONE, ACCOMPLISHED, and ACCUMULATED on our behalf.
His work of doing finished at the cross by who He was. He became sin and took on OUR punishment so we are declared innocent before God. He accomplished the mission He set out to do—making a way for us to enter God’s presence freely and without shame. He accumulated the blessings of God and imparted them to us. Jesus Christ did all, was all, accomplished all, and accumulated all SO WE DON’T HAVE TO.
We couldn’t have even if we tried! We’re INCAPABLE of freeing or saving ourselves. Only Jesus is and only Jesus did. We’re free from doing because He already DID. We’re free to BE because of who Jesus IS. We’re free to give because Jesus GAVE.
Jesus Christ is the antidote to our most fundamental chain of slavery, and it’s only in Him that we are set free. Keep your eyes on Him, and let Him transform your life of doing into the freedom to enjoy what He’s already DONE.