Re-Post: “A Zeal Misplaced?”

This article was first published by Cook International in November 2008 issue of Cook International Partners, CCMI.


 
conrade


 

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A ZEAL MISPLACED?

Christian workers can be considered to be one of the most driven people on earth. Inspired by faith in God, they readily run the race even without ample remuneration. History is flushed with testimonies that encourage such zeal.

• "Unless I can be instructed with evidence from the Holy Scriptures. … I cannot and will not recant. ….. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." (Martin Luther, Reformer, 15^th Century)
  
• "Give me Scotland or I die." (John Knox, Scottish Presbyterian, 16^th Century)
  
• "Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God." (William Carey, Baptist missionary to India, 18^th Century)
  
• "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:14)

 Like a convenient spiritual to-go lunch box, young Christians can easily pack these words and run forward in the name of faith. In their eyes, it is a joy to serve God. There are no mountains too tall for God to move, no oceans too deep for God to touch and no sky too high for God to reach. Such zeal provides a remarkable source of energy. Will they ever say die? No. Hopefully, they will realize that even though they serve the Immortal God, they are still mortal beings. A time will come when naiveté meets cynicism. A Barna research group finding reveals that the average pastorate twenty years ago was about 7 years. In 1993, this has dropped to 4 years.  By doing a Google search on 'pastors leaving ministry,' we read an alarming trend in North America, which should put the rest of the world on notice. Even the renowned Episcopal preacher Barbara Brown Taylor, after years of dedicated service to the pastorate felt that she had to 'leave church' in order to keep her faith!¹  It is easy to blame burnout, overwork and exhaustion as a reason for ministry withdrawal.  It is far too simple to blame the externals. Perhaps, the reason for ministry fatigue and Christian burnout is not external but something much more internal and personal. It is a misplaced understanding of true zeal.  The Apostle Paul warns against zeal without knowledge. 

"For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge." (Romans 10:2)

John Stott is one of the foremost observers of the trends of Christian missions in modern times. He realizes that there is always a need to hold both zeal and knowledge. It is foolish to give up everything for Christ without properly counting the cost. 


 

"Now I thank God for zeal. Heaven forbid that knowledge without zeal should replace zeal without knowledge! God's purpose is both, zeal directed by knowledge, knowledge fired with zeal."²

A zeal misplaced is of no service to God at all. The 20^th Century theologian and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us that when one boards the wrong train, it is essentially useless even if one runs speedily on the corridor in the other direction. Isn't it a shame for one to spend hours to assemble a house of sticks, only to realize that the base is actually a temporary shaky platform? Or for one to chalk up countless hours on something only to realize that it is not necessary at all in the first place?  Truly, truly, a misplaced zeal gets us nowhere. It may even lead us into a rabbit's hole of despair.


 
Effects of Zeal without Knowledge

The apostle Paul accuses the Pharisees for pursuing the law without adequate knowledge of God's grace. The early Christian believers in Jerusalem were also 'zealous for the law,' so much so that Paul has to accede to their requirements for purification so as not to stumble them (Acts 21:20b). There are at least five effects of misplaced zeal. The first one is fatal. One extreme case of zeal without knowledge is the Jonestown massacre-suicide in 1978. The false prophet, Jim Jones under the umbrella of the People's Temple, led all his followers to their deaths in South America. They have zeal, tremendous amount of it. Unfortunately, it was based on a faulty theology. Such a misplaced zeal led to 909 innocent deaths.


 
Many of us will prefer to think that we are not that extreme. Yet, the potential for Christians to work zealously without knowledge is always present. In churches, people work so much that it can be very difficult to get a day off. Pastors are on call 24 hours a day, for congregational needs can be very unpredictable. If Sundays are the busiest day of the week, the other days are basically spent on preparing for this hectic day. Some give up established professional careers so as to spend more time doing lowly paid 'Christian' work. It is a double whammy. While accepting a lower salary or no salary, they willingly embrace the work ethic of burning it all up for Christ. Such behaviour is indeed honourable. It also makes one more vulnerable to abuse and susceptible to unrealistic expectations. Becoming a 'workaholic for Christ' can subtly become an acceptable 'Christian' virtue. John O' Neikirk calls it 'the pain that others applaud.' Diane Fassel calls it a 'killer disease.' It is an addiction that is based on a faulty premise, the harder one work, the greater the self-fulfillment. A misplaced zeal is like cancer that spreads. It draws all attention to self to the detriment of the community. This is the second effect.


A third consequence of misplaced zeal is unhealthy perfectionism.  Such people find it hard to discern the difference between the 'pursuit of excellence' and the 'perils of perfectionism.' Jesus exhorts believers to be perfect (Matthew 5:48). Perfectionists often take this verse out of context and justify their actions accordingly. We need to learn to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy forms of perfection. Dr Ralph Winter in Perfecting Ourselves to Death, sees healthy perfectionism as 'adaptive, positive, healthy and constructive.' It enables one to have good self-esteem. It strives for excellence but also realistic about failures. Unhealthy perfectionism on the other hand is 'maladaptive, negative, unhealthy, destructive.' It sets unrealistic high standards and seeks to achieve them at all costs. Failure is typically generalized and as a result, it can become controlling that easily leads to exhaustion.³ Misplaced zeal that leads to unhealthy perfectionism can also be deadly to relationships.


A fourth consequence of misplaced zeal is the detriment of relationships not only at work but at home. A pastor friend of mine shared about his struggles in his marriage. A dedicated servant of God, he gave his all to the church and Christian activities, almost to the point of sacrificing a bulk of his personal time for the sake of his perceived ideas of serving the kingdom. His wife protested that he gave away all his emotional cookies to others only to return home with emotional crumbs for his wife. Imagine a situation where both husband and wife gave their all to the ministry only to return home hungry with only crumbs for each other. This can easily lead to unfulfilled marriages, unmet needs and a dangerous walk along the park of adultery and temptations of all sorts.  The fifth consequence is something more personal. A misplaced zeal can easily lead a well-intentioned worker to proclaim: "I WORK, THEREFORE I AM."  True zeal is never at the expense of one's integrity before God. No amount of work can replace one's identity for God. It is not work that defines one's identity. Neither is it the amount of achievements that makes one worthy of God's calling. Instead it is grace. Grace to receive; Grace to give; Grace to share; Grace to understand. True zeal stems from true knowledge, and true knowledge begets true zeal. Our understanding of zeal has to be reformed. How then do we formulate a wholesome understanding of true zeal? We can take a leaf from the psalms of David.


A Zeal Recovered and Refreshed

For the Christian, grace is constantly flowing from the precious fountain of God. It quenches one's thirst for meaning. It refreshes one's zest for life. It fills one's soul with delight. It energizes one's zeal with joy. 


 
Like the loving father in the parable of the prodigal son, God waits for us to come seeking him for all things. He replaces our fanaticism for things into zeal for love. He makes us gracious receivers and grateful givers. He comforts us with a zeal that is constantly refreshed by the presence of God's Spirit. He humbles us with a zeal that acknowledges ones weaknesses. True zeal makes us turn back relentlessly to the Source of all comfort and purpose. In this state, becoming consumed for God emanates willingness, consistency and joy.

"for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me." (Ps 69:9) 

The 19^th century 'prince of preachers,' Charles Spurgeon adds:
 

"Some men are eaten up with lechery, others with covetousness, and a third class with pride, but the master passion with our great leader was the glory of God, jealousy for his name, and love to the divine family." (Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David -Ps 69)

In reforming any form of misplaced zeal, the first step is to recognize two types of 'zeal for God.' The first type is motivated in God's name. The second type is done in the name of self. One of my favourite quotes is from James Hudson Taylor, OMF missionary to China whose expression of faith is captured in this wonderful statement: "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply."  If one works for the sake of self, doing God's work in man's way will always be found wanting.  How do we distinguish holy ambition from selfish motives?  Ps 69 gives us a clue that when we are working out God's will, we will enter the realm of spiritual warfare. We will be faced with all manner of evil against us. We will be accused and manhandled unfairly. Jesus calls folks like these as 'blessed.' True zeal will never be exhausted by opposition, but continually refreshed through a willing disposition toward God. True zeal is focused on God. Brother Lawrence teaches us that love is the motive of all things.

"That he had been governed by love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking him only, and nothing else, not even his gifts."⁴

There is another way of reforming zeal regularly. This is our practice of the Sabbatical rest. The great reformer Martin Luther is well known for his 95 theses, his biblical commentary on the Old and New Testament as well as many polemical articles written against the papacy. Less well known however is his desire to love God leisurely. Philip Melanchthon, a good friend of Luther once shared his zeal with Luther saying:

"This day you and I will discuss the governance of the universe."

 

Instead of agreeing with his beloved buddy, Luther gave this surprise answer:


 

"This day you and I will go fishing and leave the governance of the universe to God."⁵

Truly, when we claim to fellow workers that we are ready to burn out for Christ, to give our all, let us all remind one another, that the ministry belongs firstly to God, secondly to God, and thirdly and always to God. Lest we boast upon our own achievements, and foolishly make our ministries into gods. Remind ourselves. Write it into our hearts that we live not to work but to worship God. The Sabbath is an opportunity to do just that.


 

"The Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living."⁶

The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Work well. Rest well. Above all, love well. When our zeal has been recovered and refreshed by the Spirit of God, we will feel less hesitation to say 'yes.' Neither will we feel guilty about saying 'no.' Life becomes bearable and enjoyable. No need to rush. No need to push. True zeal will allow one to slowly and surely enjoy a holy meal with fellow servants. May God raise up leaders with true zeal!


 
About the author

Conrade Yap is a graduate of Regent College [http://www.regent-college.edu/], and has worked in the information technology marketplace for more than 15 years. He has a keen interest in leadership development and in helping professionals find meaning and faith in the marketplace. He is currently a doctoral student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary [http://www.gcts.edu/]. He resides in Vancouver, B.C., Canada with his wife, Mary, and three young children. He can be reached at yapdates@aim.com and maintains an active blog at http://yapdates.blogspot.com


 
Endnotes:

1. Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A memoir of faith (New York: Harper Collins, 2007).

2. John Stott, Your Mind Matters (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1972), p1.

3. Ralph Winter, Perfecting Ourselves to Death (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2005), p33.

4. Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God. ed. Owen Collins, "Complete Christian Classics Vol 1", (London: Harper Collins, 1999), p293.

5. David C. Egner, Let's Go Fishing in "Our Daily Bread" May 18^th, 1996. RBC press.

6. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (Harper Collins Canada Ltd, 1951), p14.


 
Copyright © 2008 Conrade Yap