More Than a Loser

Why do so many Christians tell anyone who will listen that being a Christian is, in terms of living in this world, the worst of all possible life choices? Christians never get to have any fun. They never get ahead in their jobs, their businesses, or their relationships because they are fettered by those heavy moral chains that weigh them down and keep them from becoming the fun-loving, popular, clever people they would otherwise be. If there is a reward at all, it is far off in heaven.

If you have ever felt that way, my advice to you is, “Get real!” If we are “more than conquerors through Him (Jesus) who loved us” (Romans 8:37) then we are most definitely more than losers through Satan who hates us. Who would be foolish enough to make friends with someone who told us upfront that his purpose is to steal everything we have, destroy everything that we value, and when he has done all of that, to kill us? Yet, this is exactly what Satan does. He comes to steal, kill and destroy, and we feel sorry for ourselves because our Christianity holds us back from giving him a place in our lives.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Bible knows that one of the names for Satan is Beelzebub. The name means “Lord of the Flies.” Flies—annoying, filthy, feeding on the dead and dying. I cannot imagine anything less inviting, but we live in a society where we have persuaded ourselves that it is more “fun” to give our allegiance to the Lord of the Flies than to the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

Some of the side effects of living a Christian life are no venereal disease, no pregnancies outside of marriage, no drug addiction, no alcohol addiction, and a good name in the community. One of the best side effects, however, is the loving relationship with Jesus that dispels loneliness. How amazing to know that nothing can separate us from His love. We have the assurance that whatever happens in our lives, He is always with us.

 Compare that with the physical and emotional carnage that accompanies a life of debauchery. It takes only a few years for that kind of life to produce an entire harvest of rotten fruit that steals our health, our relationships, and our futures. We see the loneliness and despair in faces all around us. We see the lost partying and making every effort to find a few moments of happiness but never finding the peace they are seeking.

The next time that you are feeling sorry for yourself because your Christianity is “holding you back,” think about what it is holding you back from. As a Christian you are “more than a conqueror” through Jesus who loves you. Do you really want to trade that to become more than a loser through Satan who hates you?