I think, therefore, He is.

Philosophy was probably my third-least favorite class in college.  The only reason it wasn’t my absolute least favorite was because my brother and I took the class together.  We had fun laughing at how our European professor pronounced the words “mango lassi”…and looking up what that is because only European philosophy professors use words like “mango lassi.”

But I quite literally never understood what was going on in that class…I didn’t follow the arguments or even get what we were arguing about most times.  And I think I got an A+.  Which further proves my distaste for philosophy based on the fact that it just doesn’t make sense.

That being said, I want to make a philosophical argument.  (Well, I don’t really know if it’s a philosophical argument because I don’t understand philosophy—but I think it might be close.)

I want to start by asserting that the most important thing in life is Christ and Christ crucified.  It is the only thing Paul decided to know (2 Corinthians 2:2).  More important than how I am growing in Christ or what I am learning or the trials I am going through is the fact that Jesus Christ lived, died, and lives again to save all of human history.  Done and done!

If Christ is the most important thing in all of life, it follows that the most important thing in my life is my ability to be a better Christian.  Of course salvation does not depend how “good” I am (actually, my salvation depends on how lost I once was).  But I should be striving for my life to be in line with that which is most important in all of life.

Here we could speculate about what being a “better Christian” (“better” meaning better than I am now, not better than someone else) means.  But I think it probably means getting closer and closer to what Christ is like, because Christ is our life (Colossians 3:4).  And as much as we think maturing in our faith means getting further away from the “Sunday school” answers, sometimes that’s really what it comes back to.  Becoming a “better Christian” probably means all of the things you would think it means: Loving people better.  Serving others above myself more.  Being more humble.  Being more faithful.  Becoming more content.  Sharing the Gospel.  Etc. etc.

And so, if the most important thing in life is Christ, and, therefore, the most important thing in my life is becoming more like Christ, it follows that each and every thing in my life should be evaluated according to how it makes me be a better Christian. 

Now, almost anything could either make me a better Christian or not make me a better Christian.  For example—playing guitar.  I could use my guitar to sing praises to God, lead others in worship to Him, bring me together in fellowship with other people, produce joy in my heart, etc.  Or I could spend 23 hours a day playing every Gavin DeGraw song on guitar and never think once about others or Christ.  Extreme example, I know, but I think it proves that most things in life, for this purpose, are not black and white.  Insomuch as something is not inherently evil with no redemptive value, it may hold the ability to make me a better Christian (things like lying, cheating, illicit drugs—I don’t think those things will ever make me a better Christian—just say “no”).

So, a bunch of things could make me more like Christ.  That being said, my concern does not need to be so much with trying to control the different things in my life or overanalyze their role therein (philosophers would definitely use the word “therein”).  My chief concern when thinking about anything in life can simply be, “How can this make me a better Christian?”

How can my relationship with so-and-so make me a better Christian?  How can my job make me a better Christian?  How can my iPhone make me a better Christian?  How can my morning cup of coffee make me a better Christian?  How can going on vacation make me a better Christian?

If something in life isn’t currently contributing to making me a better Christian, I should consider how it could.  Some effort or sacrifice might be involved in adjusting something in my life so that it does make me a better Christian.  And after running that test, if I determine something simply won’t or can’t make me a better Christian, I should thoughtfully consider disengaging it.

I’m not saying life has to become an endless mind game where I am constantly evaluating everything I’m doing.  Actually, I think it makes life simpler and, in some ways, more free to live this way, knowing that everything I do and interact with has a centralized purpose.

Have I been sippin' too much of the mango lassi?  Maybe.  All I know is that I want to be more like Christ each day.  Please, Jesus, make me more like You.