Christian Cop-Outs

I teach Sunday school, and every so often, I catch my students out there. I’ll ask a question and look around the room for a response. When I call on a student who is clearly not listening, the student will invariably answer the question with “God?” or “Jesus?” The funny thing is that, in Sunday School, that answer is never really wrong. But the truth is, it’s just a Christian cop-out.

Just as we often put our brains on autopilot (see Take Your Brain off Autopilot), we sometimes put our spiritual minds on autopilot as well. We’re content with the easy answers, but refuse to search God’s Word for deeper understanding. We do the least amount of work that we can, because we know that He will supply our need for the rest. We are okay with being good enough, but refrain from pushing ourselves toward excellence. We succumb to our Christian cop-outs and call it a day.

Once, someone at a church was overheard explaining that they could put together a major event at the lat minute. And with great pride, they said, “I did it before, and it turned out really good!” It was quickly brought to their attention that it had to be good, because it was done for the glory of God—and God is good. It didn’t fail because God doesn’t fail. But that didn’t absolve the individual of the requirement to push to make it the best it could be—with proper planning and procedure.

So often, we Christians settle for “good enough,” when God’s desire is for us to be great. God calls for our personal best. That was the difference between Cain and Abel’s offerings to God. Cain’s offering was good enough. Abel’s offering was his best. And Genesis 4:4 reveals, “…The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering.”

I want to resist the urge to fall into a Christian cop-out. Instead, I want to give my best to the Lord.