5 Ways to Do More Than Survive

True Christianity – Part 2

This is part 5 in a study on Romans 12. Begin with part 1: Sacrificial Lifestyle

Reality TV is anything but reality. Yet millions of people tuned in each week to watch the show Survivors because they enjoyed the concept of dropping 12 people off in an inhospitable environment and watching what they would be willing to do in order to be the last one standing and win a million dollars.

I have often found myself in survival mode. Not so I could win a cash prize, but just so I could make it to the next day. Focused on my own problems, difficulties or challenges, I blocked out everything else except the will to survive.

But survival at the expense of everything else is not what God had in mind when He promised us we would thrive (John 10:10). If you want to do more than just survive in this world, you must shift your focus from an inward view to an outward view. You must begin to think of others.

In Romans 12:14-21 Paul seems to start rambling in order to throw in all of the virtues he could not fit into the first part of his Christian lifestyle description. But what we have in these eight verses is actually 5 keys to True Christianity and ways that we can thrive as Christians.

Be a Blessing to Others

Just as in the days of Paul, we are entering into a new era of persecution. Christians around the world are being killed for their faith. Christians in America are facing the loss of religious freedoms and in some cases they have become targets of the politically correct agenda. Paul tells us that our response should be one of blessing those who persecute us.

This seems contrary to a survival mentality. How do we bless someone who is intent on humiliating, destroying, or even killing us? How should the church react in the face of real threats? Some individuals have demonstrated that in simple acts of love.

Chick-Fil-A restaurants came under fire for their stance on Traditional Marriage. That prompted protests around the country, but many of the restaurants responded to these protestors in love as seen HERE.

Jon Foreman from the band Switchfoot has encouraged his fans to shower protestors with love. Read more HERE.

Be Available for Others

Many people find themselves in survival mode because of depression. While there are clinical forms of depression that require medical treatment, many of us get depressed because we are focused on our own problems. One way to defeat depression is to focus on others.

Make sure you are part of a small group of believers so that you can be a part of the celebrations of others in your group. Rejoice when one of your members gets a promotion, has a new baby, graduates, etc.

Mourning may not seem like a cure for someone who is already depressed or stressed, but focusing on the grieving needs of someone else can actually free you from your own struggles. As a parent of two boys with forms of autism, I have been better able to understand other families with special needs children. And, to be frank, some of their hardships have helped me to see how blessed we have been.

Be in Harmony with Others

Nothing creates the self-focused survival mode more than when you are in a battle with another person. Work place politics, home front fights, and even church business battles can cause us to withdraw into a shelter and start snipping at anyone that gets in our line of sight.

Paul instructs us to be in harmony and do whatever is in our ability to be at peace with others. This requires us to be selfless rather than selfish. This requires us to leave the confines of the fortress that we have built around us and enter into the fray of battle with a white flag of truce.

Paul does not expect us to throw out all of our core values and beliefs for the sake of being at peace with others. We must continue to “hate what is evil and cling to what is good,” but we must show that sincere love toward all people at all times. Just as Christ displayed His love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners, we must love those who do sinful acts while we encourage them to embrace Christ.

Be Humble and Put Others First

God calls us to associate with people of low position. Are you reaching out to the young adults with tattoos all over their bodies and earrings the size of hubcaps stretching their earlobes to unnatural shapes and sizes? What about the special needs individuals who yell out in the middle of worship or run around in circles during bible study? Do you love the families that cannot contribute much to your budget and in fact become a drain to the church because of their constant financial needs? These are the people God came to save.

When we focus on survival we tend to hide those we are embarrassed by the most: our beer guzzling redneck uncle; our drug addict cousin; our homosexual nephew; or our atheist sister. These are the people God came to save.

Everything we read about Paul indicates that he had to be a type A overachiever, yet he warns us to avoid pride. When we become prideful we tend to display the best and brightest of our inner circle. We start talking numbers and dollars and achievements and activities. 

Pride also causes us to think that we must punish people who are evil. How dare they attack me? I am a child of God and they must pay for such audacity. But God tells us that vengeance is His, not ours. Don’t get so bigheaded that you believe it is your right to return fire against a lost world. Put aside your pride and start showing kindness and love to your enemies.

Be Good And Serve Others

With the constant attacks by the evil one, we can be easily defeated if we are living in a survival mode. God wants us to thrive by focusing on others. When evil attacks, we should respond with good. You cannot defeat evil by attacking evil.

Stop focusing on your own needs and start serving the needs of others, including those who hate you. Nothing bothers me more than when I see a minister avoid certain people in their congregation or community because they know this person hates them. How can we show God’s love to a lost world if we start to avoid people?

Jesus came to serve the very people who eventually demanded His arrest. Jesus came to bring life to those who took His. We need to be like Jesus and start serving others.

These 5 things will help us move beyond survival and learn how to thrive.