Author: Phil Bray, Senior Pastor at MaconFBC | Posted April 2, 2024
The pursuit of God is an activity that should characterize our entire life. Jesus prayed to the Father, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). He defines eternal life as knowing God. Eternal life is living in relationship with God, ever pursuing the rich reward that is Him. But how do we cultivate this relationship? What does it look like, practically speaking, to walk with God?
When asked that question, we often contemplate adding various spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading, fasting, and attending church. This is in addition to an already overtaxed schedule of activities that involve worldly pursuits. Inevitably, the schedule snaps under pressure and our newly added spiritual habits are the first to hit the cutting floor. As I read through Psalm 101 this morning, I was struck by verse three. This Psalm highlights David’s pursuit of God. He is striving to live in the way of integrity. He despises the way of the evil doer and does not even want to abide near the one who practices deceit. Verse three really stood out to me. “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;” (Ps 101:3a).
David’s pursuit of God began with subtraction, not addition. In David’s attempt to live in the way of integrity, he starts by subtracting activity that is counterproductive. Imagine if you were baking a cake and you inadvertently added salt instead of sugar to the recipe. Realizing your mistake, you have a choice to make. You can either add the appropriate amount of sugar to the already corrupted mix in hopes that it will undo what has been done, or you can remove the salt by removing that corrupted mix and beginning again with a new mix. Of those two choices, which one results in having an edible cake? Exactly, subtracting.
Many of us like that cake mix, stir into our lives loads of worldly activities, priorities, and values, then we attempt to add in a few spiritual practices or habits; yet we do not subtract the corrupting influence of the world. We simply hope that our twenty minutes of Bible reading will offset the hours of screen time by which we absorb a whole host of worldly values. Do we really think that spending five minutes in prayer will sweeten our angry and bitter heart after an hour of scrolling through news feeds and political ads? It’s time to start over, time to subtract. David’s pursuit of God began with subtraction, so should ours.
Paul explains this same concept in a metaphor about clothing. We must put off the old habits of life and put on the new habits of Christ (Col 3:5-15). The pursuit of God begins by taking off sinful habits. David had it right when he said, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;” (Ps 101:3a). Our lives are bombarded by worthless things. To pursue God, we must begin by refusing to set the worthless practices and values of this world before our eyes. What is it that you keep placing in front of your eyes? What is shaping your heart and mind? The pursuit of God begins by stopping the absorption of worldly ideology through social media, television, podcasts, or print media. If what you are pursuing is more worldly, then do the math: subtract. Start pursuing God by doing less.