Fast food, fashion, and faith
As a culture we are all about fast and convenient. Even though, when we take a bite of that chicken sandwich, we see some sort of compressed meat or other elements that look “delicious,” we shrug it off because it was convenient. I can order anything and within a few minutes I can have it in my car, and I can be on my way. The craze of fast fashion has given us “hot” new looks at a much cheaper cost. Yet, at our convenience, we can easily turn our head and ignore the inhumane conditions it was created in to get to me.
This same cultural viral effect has had a significant impact on our faith lives. We have created a church and faith culture that is convenient and “made to order” at the expense of our own heart. We want and expect quick and convenient when it comes to following Jesus and being a part of his community but if we don’t get it, “our way and quick,” we simply move on.
Yet, when we observe the pace and the path that Jesus walked there was nothing “quick and convenient” about his way, especially if it meant sacrificing the wellbeing of others. Eugene Peterson called the path of discipleship a “long obedience in the same direction.” (Now that phrase isn’t too popular sounding.) To follow Jesus is to give up your pace and convenience to take on Jesus’ pace and way of humble servanthood and love.
In Isaiah 40, God gave a great promise to his people with a significant caveat.
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding, no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.
Did you catch that? The only way to soar is to WAIT upon the Lord. God never promises fast and convenient, but he does promise fulfillment and renewal. Will we slow down and wait? Let’s all agree, waiting isn’t fun. In the waiting, our heart is nurtured, and transformation happens as we prioritize God’s way in our life. Slowing down and allowing ourselves to be disrupted out of our comfortable convenience opens us up to experience the work of the Spirit as it brings that renewal and strength. Remember the work of the Spirit is transformation from the fast and convenient pace of the world into the abundant life of Jesus.
Besides, we can all admit, quality for the sake of convenience doesn’t really satisfy in the long run. So why would we continue to choose a convenient and fast faith that will disappoint and leave us grounded?
