August 11, 2008 Following vs. Believing

What we think about is important. Paul encouraged us to set our minds on the Spirit, rather than the flesh (see Romans 8). Jesus frequently asked the disciples, “What do you think…?” Clearly we are to use our brains to focus attention on the things of God, but there is a difference in thinking and believing.

If I think there is a rattlesnake coiled beneath my chair, I may or may not do anything about it. If I believe the snake is there, however, if I hear the rattle and know that I know that I know There. Is. A. Snake. Under. My. Chair… well, let’s just say that definitive action will occur.

Within Christian teaching, we often hear an emphasis on belief. Do you believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Do you believe God’s word? Do you believe in the virgin birth? Do you believe in creationism vs. evolution? Do you believe the rapture will come pre-, mid-, or post-tribulation? Do you believe the gifts of the Spirit are still valid for today? Do you believe?

Most people attending church, and even a large proportion of the general population, would answer in the affirmative. A Fox poll a few years ago revealed that a full 92% of Americans said they believed in God (the Barna group, when describing God as “the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today,” came up with 69%). But only about a quarter of the population attends church, and in view of the conditions we see all around us, apparently belief doesn’t entirely cut it.

I recently came across a message (in a catalogue, of all places) that quotes a Salvadorean Jesuit, Jon Sobrino: “Do you believe in Christ? It isn’t hard to answer that…But when someone asks, ‘Are you following Jesus’—this can get to be expensive. This question has to do with my lifestyle, my attitudes, my values, my surrender.”

“If I’m following Jesus,” Sobrino writes, “why am I such a good insurance risk?...why, when I have done my giving, have I so much left over for myself? If I’m following Jesus, why do my closets bulge when so many are unclothed? If I’m following Jesus, why do I have so many friends among the affluent and so few among the poor?...Why do I have so much privacy in a world that is starved for love…why am I tempted to overeat in a world in which so many beg for bread? If I’m following Jesus, why am I getting on so well in a world that marked Him out for death?”

Although the ideas of believing in Jesus and following Jesus are theoretically inseparable, Sobrino thinks we separate them constantly through our behavior, and that when we do, we should err on the side of following: “For one can believe without following, but one cannot follow without believing.”

Verrrrry interesting. What did Jesus say to people, as he walked on this earth? He talked about belief, yes, but he asked them, time after time, to “Follow me.” The question to us…to me…then, is simple. As a believer, am I also a follower? Are my actions indicative of genuine belief, or is what I consider “belief” merely mental assent?

“Even the demons believe, and shudder” (James 2:19 NRSV).