Why I Worry When I Hear that Someone is "On Fire" For God

Most of us would admit that we are far better at STARTING things than we are at finishing things. 

Staying faithful to our commitments is one of the most difficult (it seems) things in life. Committing to marriage and staying married for fifty or sixty years, committing to a healthy lifestyle and STAYING with that healthy lifestyle, committing to a task and staying committed to that task- the people who do those things are the ones who will do well in this world.

We all know people who were committed to something but aren't anymore. People who were committed to their church or the Christian faith but aren't anymore, people who were committed to a job but aren't anymore, people who were committed in marriage but aren't anymore- the list goes on. 

We truly are a bipolar society- getting fired up about the new thing, boldly proclaiming our commitment to it, and then tiring of it quickly and moving on to the next thing. In fact, the louder and more passionate the proclamation a person makes about something, the more likely (I've observed) that it won't last.

As a pastor, I've seen tons of people "on fire for Christ." You hear people comment on it, "Oh, that person's just ON FIRE for Christ. He's just so ON FIRE for Christ. She's just so ON FIRE for Christ." Sounds good. Is it genuine? Sometimes. Most often, not. The people who are "on fire" for Christ are usually the ones who, in about two or three years, have walked away from the faith. The parable of the sower that Jesus told describes these folks as the "rocky soil"- that spring up quickly and quickly fade away. While in the beginning their faith looks amazing, in the end these people are of no use to God's kingdom and are in the same boat as the hard-packed soil which never produced a crop to begin with (in Jesus' parable).

Instead of celebrating the person who is apparently "on fire" for Jesus, we should celebrate the person who has been quietly faithful to God for a number of years. The person who makes no big public pronouncements, the person who does not boldly make all kinds of statements, but who day in and day out, month in and month out, year in and year out, continues to show up, continues to serve, continues to stay faithful- that's a person to be commended and looked up to. 

In life, it really only matters what we FINISH. What we start out to do, what we really WANT to do, doesn't matter. In life, it's only the things we stay faithful to and see through to the end that will matter. 

Can you be counted on? That's the big question.