Kingdom Values and Human Aspirations

The scripture voices concern about this, saying, "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalms 127:1).

Unfortunately, man is prone to feel that "anything goes" as long as the right results are apparently attained. However, the Father is as concerned about "how" a work is achieved as He is "what" is achieved. Wrong methods may appear to achieve right results but the question is, will they stand the test of time, adversity, and their consequences in human lives.

Beautiful edifices may be built and admired by many. If, however, they are built on a wrong foundation, the time will come when the foundations will shift and the structures will fall. When that happens, the after effects can be monumental in terms of casualties and consequences. So it is in the Kingdom. When wrong attitudes and motives prevail in Kingdom work, Satan delights in exposing them for what they are and precipitating their exposure, often achieving great and lasting damage to the affairs of the Kingdom.

Jesus said, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:23-27).

It is extremely important that Christian leaders as well as rank and file believers be dominated by values commensurate with the Kingdom in all that they do. A "rule of thumb" test to determine one’s motivation is how he feels when things don’t go his way, when people seemingly abandon the work, and/or results are not achieved that he has envisioned. When he feels hurt and rejected, wrong motivations have gotten in the way.

God both rules and overrules the feelings, aspirations, and desires of man when they are in conflict with Kingdom values and objectives. The Father never forgets or abandons His people or His plans for His people. When one feels rejected and cast off when things seemingly fail, he needs to go back to the cross, seek the mind and will of God afresh, and to determine where he started assuming ownership of God’s work.

When we are results and success oriented, we will see Kingdom achievement in terms of final outcomes rather than a process. God could speak and anything He desires would come in existence. He has a myriad of ways of accomplishing His objectives. He uses us in what He does in order to teach us His values and processes as much He does to achieve certain results.

Our task is to be continuously obedient rather than to push for results. We tend to see results as measurable accomplishments rather than faith-filled processes. The modern church mentality is often expressed in the form of goals, tasks, and achievements. One simply can’t put God in that kind of box. He moves if and when He desires.

I’m aware that plans, structures, and processes are involved in anything one sets out to do. We are constantly faced with such issues as buildings, budgets, and human involvement. It is not that these things are wrong. It is that wrong motives and aspirations can be so imbedded in our attitudes toward them that they become a deterrent to and a corruption of Kingdom values rather than building blocks.

We can become so personally involved that we began to make demands on people to perform to our satisfaction, micromanaging everything we are connected with, and taking every apparent rejection and failure as a personal affront. Brethren, these things must not be. The gentleness, faith, and sweetness of the Spirit must dominate every attitude, plan, process, and outcome. In this is the Father glorified.

Jeff