Eugene Peterson wrote a book in 1980 that is as relevant today as it was the year it was first published. Actually, it may be more relevant than it was 40 years ago. I think it would help all Christians to take the time to read it for themselves. But, I know that many people won’t or can’t do that, so let me quote a brief section from his introduction that he expounds throughout the book using the Psalms of Ascent (Ps. 120-134) as his text.
Dr. Peterson writes, “One aspect of our world that I have been able to identify as harmful to Christians is the assumption that anything worthwhile can be acquired at once. We assume that if something can be done at all, it can be done quickly and efficiently. Our attention spans have been conditioned by thirty-second commercials. Our sense of reality has been flattened by thirty-page abridgments. It is not difficult in such a world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. Many claim to have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim. In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.
“Religion in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Religion is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church; for others, occasional visits to special services. Some, with a bent for religious entertainment and sacred diversion, plan their lives around special events like retreats, rallies and conferences. We go to see a new personality, to hear a new truth, to get a new experience and so somehow expand our otherwise humdrum lives. The religious life is defined as the latest and the newest: Zen, faith healing, human potential, parapsychology, successful living, choreography in the chancel, Armageddon. We’ll try anything—until something else comes along.
“I don’t know what it has been like for pastors in other cultures and previous centuries, but I am quite sure that for a pastor in Western culture at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the aspect of our world that makes the work of leading Christians in the way of faith most difficult is what Gore Vidal has analyzed as ‘today’s passion for the immediate and the casual.’ Everyone is in a hurry. The persons whom I lead in worship, among whom I counsel, visit, pray, preach and teach, want shortcuts. They want me to help them fill out the form that will get them instant credit (in eternity). They are impatient for results. They have adopted the lifestyle of a tourist and only want the high points. But a pastor is not a tour guide. [emphasis mine] I have no interest in telling apocryphal religious stories at and around dubiously identified sacred sites. The Christian life cannot mature under such conditions and in such ways.” —Peterson, Eugene H.; A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (The IVP Signature Collection) (pp. 9-11). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
His title for the book comes from the proposition that following Christ is “a long obedience in the same direction.” (This quote has its roots in a 19th century statement from a German philosopher.) I don’t think I know of a better way to describe the Christian life than what this title proposes. We have to stop commercializing Christianity so that it fits in with the consumer mentality of the 21st Century. Following Jesus means more than finding a quick fix, a simple solution, an emotional high, instant spirituality, or gaining a few “brownie points” with God for eternity! It is about pressing on methodically, daily, patiently, thoughtfully, committedly, diligently, faithfully, unreservedly…taking time to get to know Christ in the ups and downs of our lives. It means obeying Him no matter what comes our way or how difficult it may be to do so. You can’t buy a seven day prescription of discipleship pills that will resolve all of your life problems. Neither can you pull through a spiritual drive-through and order “fast-food” spiritual maturity. I guess that’s why some professing Christians become disillusioned or distracted along this journey of spiritual growth. Following Christ as His child truly does require “a long obedience in the same direction.” It’s the reason we always encourage you to read your Bible consistently, gather with other believers at church weekly, share your faith with others faithfully, and keep praying earnestly! Let’s stop looking for a quick-fix spirituality that brings nothing but emotional highs. Let’s start living a faithful Christlike life that says, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” (Job 13:15)!
