Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Biblical Tips for Longevity in Christian Living
By Christian Collins
“The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.” -Friedrich Nietzche
In 2022 I have felt saddened watching some of my heroes of the faith fall from grace and also seeing the ripple effects that this has had not only on their lives and their family’s lives, but also on many who sat under their teaching in their congregations. Whether we choose to realize it or not, there is spiritual warfare happening all around us and there is an attack on the Christian church and all the more on our Christian leaders.
First and foremost, we must treasure our pastors and pray for their souls as they are called by God to watch over ours. Like us, they too wrestle with the brokenness of sin, have their flaws, and yet God uses them as He can and wants to use us. For those aspiring to be Christian leaders inside of the church, to lead a nonprofit ministry, or simply to be a Christian example in any other career field, there are certain precautions we must take to be able to lead on a high level.
Maybe you are a social media influencer, speaker, podcast host, author, non-profit leader, an elected political leader, or maybe you work outside of politics altogether… we can build our reputations for years and even decades but lose it in just minutes or even seconds due to poor decision making. This does not mean that God cannot redeem someone who has made a sinful and life-altering mistake, but we may still have to live with the consequences of our actions. And even if we don’t lose everything, what quality of life do we truly have if we are a public success but our private lives are in shambles? More importantly, what good is it to gain the whole world but lose our souls? For most of us, this heavenly race is not a sprint; it’s a marathon.
To have longevity means we must do as Proverbs 4:23 states, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
I must admit that in some ways I feel unqualified to write about this topic of longevity in Christian living being that I’m still only in my 30’s and have not lived for God as long as someone in their 80’s, but what I can say is that I have had a lot of great Christian leaders who are further along in their faith mentor me to inform my writing and this article applies as much to me as it does to anyone reading it. Here are five ways that we can go about it:
1) Healthy Boundaries
Every Christian should have lines that they simply will not cross. That may be different for different people depending on their vulnerabilities or also considering their leadership role and the fact that as Christian leaders there are people watching them. There are certain places we simply should not go, things we cannot say or do, and people we simply will not spend time with. One example of this is how former Vice President Pence never met alone with a woman that was not his wife. This may seem extreme to some, but he has had a successful marriage so we cannot argue with the results. Billy Graham had a board of directors over his ministry who set his salary so that he would not be entirely in control of the money and greed would not take control of him. Perhaps if your family has had a history of alcoholism then you avoid alcohol altogether or you know that there are people that follow you that wrestle with this then you simply do not drink in front of them. Sex, money, and alcohol have been the ruin of many men and women so it is important to practice the habits of self-restraint and self-discipline now so that we continue to maximize our opportunities to grow in influence and we don’t squander our opportunities due to poor life choices.
2) Christian Accountability
Most of the time, Christian accountability is not something that just happens but it is something that we have to intentionally seek out. We should find a community of believers in which we can grow in our relationships with God. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another.” It takes light to drive out darkness and the only way to drive out sin is to expose it by confessing it, repenting of it, and asking for help from those we trust to overcome it. Even better to find someone that is older than us, that we respect and admire for the way that they have lived their life, and seek them out to learn from them. We must find a way to get on their calendars so that they can pour into us and help us. For me, one of those leaders is Senator Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz. We have spent hundreds of hours together over the last decade and I can most assuredly say he has helped shape my worldview of the church’s role in civic society. Another is my pastor, Jason Shepherd of Church Project, who has tremendously helped deepen my understanding of the Word of God. Finally, my father, Chet, has been my confidante and pro-bono life coach. These are examples of men who have shaped who I am today. The inverse of this is also true: we must make ourselves available to be this godly example and confidante to someone who is not as far along as us.
3) Sincere Love for God
We should obey God out of sincere love for and desire to please Him as opposed to believing that all of our earthly dreams will come true when we do. The reward for obedience to God is not always wealth, prestige, or tangible earthly success in this life but rather a greater sense of peace of mind now and our reward certainly comes in heaven later. Is that enough for us? I hope so. Just as a husband and wife would want to please one another in word and deed we ought to have that same desire to please God with how we live devoted to Him.
4) Get Back Up Again
When we stumble, and we will at times, we cannot stay down for long and we have to get back up again. Psalms 37:23-24 says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” We must trust that God’s ways are better than our ways, and because He calls us to a more sanctified way of living every day, He will give us the strength to endure.
5) Having Gospel-Centered Conversations
The more we make our days about sharing God’s love with people, occupying our minds and time with doing his work, the more we reinforce the Gospel we know to be true and applicable within ourselves. This could look different to different people. Perhaps these Gospel-centered conversations could happen while working at a food bank or on a mission trip, or they could happen while we’re getting a haircut or being waited on at a restaurant. Spiritual growth happens within us when we share Jesus Christ with others.
Most have heard the children’s story of the tortoise in the hare, whereas the tortoise was slow and steady and won the race, and in contrast, the hare started out strong but got distracted and lost his way. Let this illustration serve as a reminder that we are to live every day keeping the end goal in mind so that we are proactive with every step we take, the decisions we make, to achieve and reach the desired destination: an eternity enjoying Christ forever and glorifying Him here on earth along the way.
The Apostle Paul drives this point home clearly in Philippians 3:13-14, stating, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Emphasis on the words straining forward there, because oftentimes the life God is calling us to live, can feel like we are straining with all that we have to move forward. A life of long obedience in the same direction entails that we ultimately keep walking down the straight and narrow even when it seems long and difficult, and we would rather take a shortcut.
God is calling each of us to live in such a way with the end in mind so that when we are old and grey then we can look back on our lives and be proud of the life that we lived. More importantly though, it is so that we can hear God say one day, “Well done, my good faithful servant.”
Living a life of long obedience in the same direction is ultimately what will have made life worth living.
Christian Collins is a friend and supporter of Christians Engaged. If you enjoyed this essay and would like to read more from our friends, keep coming back to our Blog page. We continue to post excellent content to encourage you and urge you forward in your walk with Jesus in the civic arenas God has placed you in.
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