What is good for God is good for me

There is no conflict of interest in Christianity. What is good for God is good for me. What is best for me is best for God. What is bad for me is bad for the kingdom. What damages the kingdom is destructive to me.

There was a time in the life of the disciples when they were tempted to turn from enjoying God and their relationship with Him through Jesus to enjoying the works of God through them. They came to Jesus and said, “Hey, look at this. This is unbelievable, the demons listen to us.” Jesus told them to discipline themselves to find their joy in what is constant: “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20 )

Why did Jesus say this? Perhaps He knew that there will come a time when one of His servants will have a thorn in the flesh and will pray three times, but He will not remove it. Later Paul will say, “ . . . and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” ( 2 Timothy 4:20). Sick in Miletus? Why leave him sick? Why didn’t he just heal him? There is great mystery in why God chooses to heal at some times and not others. His ways are higher than our ways. But if our joy is in the work of God, and not in the person of God, it will not have the constancy that we desire and God desires for us.

In the world people often say to one another, “Enjoy yourself.” It is said with reference to weekends and vacations and softball games. Enjoy yourself. Sometimes servers in restaurants will shorten it to, “Enjoy.” We are not for sure if they mean “Enjoy yourself,” or, “Enjoy your dinner,” or, “Enjoy your evening.” In whatever way they mean it, it is most likely the exact opposite of what God is trying to work into us: enjoying Him. He is working to break the chains of our enjoying self to free us to enjoy God.

One the other hand, the nice thing about following God is that you never have to worry about a conflict of interest. You never have to worry about whether or not you are being selfish. You never have to ask, “Am I doing this for me or for God?” They are one and the same. Let me explain.

There is no conflict of interest in Christianity. What is good for God is good for me. What is best for me is best for God. What is bad for me is bad for the kingdom. What damages the kingdom is destructive to me.

 

Josh Hunt. People Who Enjoy Their God.