Goals, Gospel, and Government Work

Have you ever had a wildly improbable goal?

Martha Beck gained national attention in 2002 when she appeared on the Oprah show to promote an article on the concept of Wildly Improbable Goals “W.I.G.s”. That’s why I was not aware of it until much later.

In 2014, I got it in my head that it would be a good idea to ride my bike 418 miles across the state of Iowa over a week in late July. This ride, called RAGBRAI, is not as intimidating as it sounds. There were people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and we often stopped for beer and pie. But, it is still 418 miles. I wanted to ride every mile!

As I headed out that first morning, the weather was excellent, and I was well rested - and naive. The ride ahead seemed to be no trouble at all. Then reality set in. There are the miles, the heat, the hills, the wind, and the rain and wind together. The ride is sometimes complicated by the need to navigate through people who dodn’t know how to ride in a large group, and others who are too drunk to ride. Then there was my body, which told my mind after the third day that I had overcommitted. Finally, on the last day, there was that time when I put my tire in the crack in the road and took a tumble at 22 miles an hour.

Finally, after 418 miles, I got to dip the front wheel of my bike in the Mississippi River, raise my bike over my head, and declare to the world, “I persevered! I obtained what I sought out to do!”

Life, especially in Washington, is a lot like RAGBRAI. The road is long and winding, and while there are periods of joy and relative ease, there are also periods of struggle and difficulty. These times of hardship often lead to asking ourselves, should I keep going?

What keeps us going? Goals.

All of us have or at least need goals in life. Goals shape our lives, and the right goals will motivate us, encourage us to persevere through difficult situations, and bring us joy. However, not all goals are the same. Inadequate goals are often not powerful enough to drive us forward or help us persevere. Worst yet, improper goals can lead us away from joy and towards futility.

The Importance of Ordering Our Goals

Paul reveals a deep understanding of the importance of goals when speaking to the people of Philippi,

.8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

4 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. Philippians 3:8-4:1

What is Paul alluding to when he says, “not that I have already obtained it?” What is Paul pressing on towards? He has just said that he counts all he has as nothing and desires only “to gain Christ and be found in Him.” Paul also says that in gaining Christ and being found in Him, he now has a righteousness of God, not of himself. It is important to notice that Paul is already speaking of possessing the righteousness of God. Therefore, this cannot be his goal.

So, what is the goal?  Paul said, “To live is Christ; to die is gain!” The only goal Paul has is to be ultimately perfected in and by Christ and to live forever in unity with Him in the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven. This is, as Paul says later, “the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” For Paul, there is no other ultimate goal worth pursuing. Focusing on this goal alone will lead to a meaningful and flourishing life. This goal will empower Paul to persevere.

But what about other goals? Should we have no personal goals, no family goals, no educational goals, no vocational goals, or no goals for our communities? Of course we should. But those goals are subsumed under our goal of pursuing Christ.

Consider how this reordering changes the pursuit of all of our goals. The blessing of our perfection in Christ as the goal is that it not only shapes us and leads us to a meaningful life but also empowers us to persevere because it is always in front of us.

The Role of Effort in Achieving Goals

Here is where things get complicated for Christians. How do we balance work and goals? Paul says,

“but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”

Paul is pointing to the expectation of personal effort in pursuing goals - even in being perfected in Christ. An enduring effort is the definition of perseverance. But, for many Christians, there is an aversion to any connection between our faith and work. That is because we confuse two terms.

The first is “works” – believing that our “acts of Law keeping or moral obedience” will somehow be sufficient for us to stand before God. Paul covers this topic at length when he talks about having “a righteousness from God.” in Romans. The second is “work – or effort.” Life is work.  Genesis 1:26-28 makes clear that work is part of the blessing, not the curse. God calls us to glorify Him through our work. Paul makes it clear that he is putting forth effort and has no plans to stop. “I press on” is a phrase loaded with effort. It conjures up images of overcoming exhaustion and obstacles, of continuing even though we would rather not.  Paul intensifies this idea of enduring effort by saying he is “straining forward to what lies ahead.”

For years, I struggled with this concept. Especially when planting two churches and wrestling through the meaning of Paul’s similar words to the Colossians 2,

“28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

It has taken me decades to understand what it means to do so “with all His energy that he powerfully works within me.” I know how to struggle to accomplish my goals! It even put me in the hospital twice. In Greek, struggling is the word “agonidzomai” - to work agonizingly hard.  But my hospital stay occurred in part because I was actually working for my goals with my energy and hoping that Jesus would be happy with what I did for Him.

Paul, however,  is talking about living the Christian life that Christ has called him to live. He is talking about evangelism, offering restoration and hope to everyone, loving people way outside his comfort zone, fighting for justice, offering mercy, confronting sin and wrongdoing, repenting when he does wrong, and even embracing the suffering that all of that brings, as he is conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.  In Paul’s mind, his life is to be lived both as a life of training and competing. Paul is not promoting works-based salvation but pressing on and straining toward the goal of being perfected in and by Christ. And, here is the blessing of the gospel - the end is already promised!

Washington provides several problematic alternative goals, especially for Christians:

• Make America Great Again
• Build Back Better
• Change the world
• Make a name for ourselves (see Genesis 11)
• Store up riches on earth (Matthew 6)
• Accumulate power (Deuteronomy 28)

Washington also offers opportunities for pursuing goals that lead to flourishing:

• Promoting equality of opportunity in the marketplace (Lev 19)
• Ensuring workers are treated fairly (Ephesians 6, Colossians 4)
• Fostering care for widows & orphans (James 1)

Working in and for a well-ordered government (Romans 13)

The great thing, and perhaps the hard thing, is that pressing on and straining toward can have applications to every area of our lives.

But notice this, Paul proposes that perseverance requires not only enduring physical effort but enduring mental effort. He says two things here that are important to this idea. “forgetting what lies behind” … and then in verse 15, “ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.”

Paul understands that often the most challenging part of getting through something is not our physical endurance but our mental endurance. How so? Our past gets in the way. We start hearing unhelpful voices about all the times we have tried and failed; we have not measured up; we have let people down. And then we think, “why should I even try?”

Finished to here - The Blessing of Heroes in Pursuing Goals

Having someone we look to for inspiration and example is helpful in pursuing our properly ordered goals. Paul offers himself up, saying, “Join in imitating me.” He calls these followers of Christ to do what he has done - to consider everything as loss to gain Christ and to place being perfected in and by Christ as their main goal.  He then points to others who have done the same - people like Epaphroditis and Timothy.

Yet, Paul knows they also see people who are not living this way. He knows they cannot avoid seeing these people. So, he warns his friends that the lives of those who are walking as enemies of all that Christ came to accomplish will end in destruction (see Psalm 73). We need reliable examples.

God has created a place for us to find such mentors - the Church. Not just your local church but the global Church. This is why whole-life discipleship is so critical to equipping servants and leaders to flourish as they participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new. Who are the Christians around you that can look to for encouragement in setting and pursuing your goals?  However, the goal is not to look for perfect people but for people that allow you to see their strengths and weaknesses and will allow you to learn from their successes and failures.

Additionally, like Paul, we should consider ourselves as an example. Are we living our lives in such a way as to be proper examples to those pressing on and striving towards the goal of being perfected by Christ? Again, this does not mean that we need to have perfect lives but that in our successes and failures, we should be an example of a Gospel-Centered life.

A Final Encouragement to Real People

“20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Paul has written this letter to a church that contained Lydia, the seller of purple, the many other women, the Philippian jailer, and others who were wondering if they have any chance of attaining a significant life. Paul’s gospel-centered message to them is that attaining the goal he is proposing does not ultimately rest on their efforts. It rests on the work of Christ on the cross.

Now imagine Paul is writing to those serving and leading in Washington.

Look at what Paul tells them, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Not that we will become citizens of heaven someday in the future, but that is where our citizenship exists right now. We are already living as citizens even though we do not enjoy the full benefits.

Yes, we are living here as exiles. In everything we are doing, we are working to experience and extend the life-changing love of Jesus Christ into our homes, our workplaces, and our communities.  Thankfully, we do so also waiting the final return of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has already come and laid his life down for us and risen again to declare that the victory is assured.  The entire passage is about the fact that Paul already has what he does not have. He presses on to obtain it because Christ has already obtained him!

The final words of Paul are the words everyone who is pressing on and straining toward the goal needs to hear, “4 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”

As Britain's most famous World War II poster said,

Keep Calm and Carry On!