divine butler slash cosmic therapist
After researching the spiritual life of teens over a 5 yr. span, Christian Smith concluded the faith of the majority of those who attend churches is MTD: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.
By “moralistic” I mean good and nice…By “therapeutic” I mean being primarily concerned with one’s own happiness in contrast to focusing on glorifying God, learning obedience, or serving others. Finally, by “deism” I mean a view of God as normally distant and not involved with one’s life, except if one has a problem one needs God to solve. In other words, God functions as a combination divine butler and cosmic therapist.
~Christian Smith, Sociologist of Religion, University of Notre Dame
I read this and was immediately challenged to look at the places where I put God into a self-serving role that omits or ignores the glory He deserves first and foremost. Am I too buddy buddy with God – not recognizing the magnitude and incalculable privilege it is just to utter a word to Him? It is only in those times of humility that I recognize and experience His power and presence up close and regain a perspective, accept His love, & recalibrate my view of God and His view of me. I am not God’s customer or client. I am his child – adopted through the powerful blood of Jesus Christ! I find a Father who is all loving and all powerful. One who wants to walk with me – everywhere! I learn to recognize His voice and heed His guidance. In those promptings and small acts of obedience He begins His best work: someone smiles, someone hopes, someone is cared for and loved, bitterness disappears, lies are unveiled and truth permeates, heaviness dissolves, anger subsides, peace surrounds, eternity is altered, strength is regained and beauty is restored. We pick up the towel and do His work, and He gives us (His children) a front row seat. And it’s in those steady worshipful moments we feel most alive.
