During a momentary lull in the last couple of days, I found myself wondering about the true value of the different things I’ve become involved in lately. Different church activities, events, and working full-time had all been adding up to a large daily to-do list and I’d been running around busily for a while now. But during a few quiet moments, I started thinking, how many of my constant comings and goings were born out of a desire to do what God wants me to spend my time doing?

The reason for this self-examination was a book I had been reading: Real Christianity by William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a British parliamentary member in the 1900's that played a major role in the demise of the English slave trade. He was not just an eloquent advocate of racial justice, but also a gifted writer with a hunger for spiritual truth. Tired of the pretentious and insincere religiosity he saw around him, he pursued a faith that was both intimate and relevant.

In Real Christianity, Wilberforce’s prevailing theme is the importance of not just doing good, but of having the right motivation. In a new "translation" of the book, Bob Beltz brings Wilberforce’s powerful insights to life by updating the antiquated language of the original. Although I'm usually not a fan of adaptations, Wilberforce's message pulled me into the book much more than any "dumbing-down" qualms could have pushed me away.
 
Finishing Wilberforce's book right before taking a youth volunteer group to a homeless shelter (one of the many events I’ve found myself helping with lately) made me stop and rethink why I was going. I had been looking forward to the trip, but these words took hold of my heart: “Rather than congratulating ourselves on our benevolence… we need to measure our giving against the giving nature of God himself." Had I signed up because I wanted to serve others, or was I more interested in patting myself on the back?
 
After some prayerful self-assessment, I felt reassured that my motives were correct. But throughout the night as our group led worship, shared testimonies, and helped serve dinner, phrases from Wilberforce's book kept bobbing up to the surface of my mind. "Cultural Christianity" was one of them.
 
Wilberforce challenges the idea that "positive behavior is the equivalent of true faith." He believed that too many of us view our actions as the only indication of the state of our hearts. Although the fruit we bear can be a good indicator of the ground we are planted in, Wilberforce felt that we often do the right thing simply because it is something we feel bound to as Christians. In other words, doing good has become our culture.
 
Just as any culture has its own unique view of good, evil, and what is socially acceptable, Christian culture has its own take on how we are to act towards the world around us. We are taught to live according to Jesus’ example, always being “about our Father’s business” serving God and helping those in need. But can true compassion come from morality that has become mere habit? Wilberforce didn't think so, and neither did I as I watched the staff and volunteers passing out trays of food to people at the shelter.

I’m sure that all the volunteers were doing their best to complete their tasks well. But I’ll bet some of participants were there just to mentally punch a “Christian living” clock and put in their time. I wonder what they would say if asked why they had come. “Helping the less fortunate,” “giving back to the community,” and “do unto others” would all be good responses, but I think the answer Wilberforce would have been interested in hearing would be: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). As he puts it, "there is no substitute for the love of God being our highest purpose."
 
Christianity is not just a system of ethics and behavior modification. As followers of Christ we should not be dutiful robots, leading our lives in a merely “acceptable” way. Regardless of how much we actually accomplish, the joy of our own salvation should inspire us to give Him the pleasure of observing us joyfully following His example.

Watching the faces of both the volunteers and those being served last Saturday, I could see that, for some, an awkward sense of division was being smoothed over by genuine compassion. I know that many of the youth were intimidated by the rough neighborhood we were in, and weren't quite sure how to act around a group of homeless men and women with backgrounds very different than their own. Yet unwittingly, they were doing exactly what Wilberforce recommends. They weren't just sacrificing time to serve others. They were serving because they truly wanted to.
 
Too often we Christians feel a vague affinity towards being "do-gooders," running around busily doing things we perceive to be right. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of life and forget why we have this desire to “do something”: Christ's genuine compassion for his creation. Our natural inclination towards keeping ourselves busy is meant to inspire us to serve others. But what this world needs is not a preprogrammed culture of religious behavior, but a faith that comes alive.

Wilberforce found assurance that he was doing right by simply looking to Christ for inspiration and following that lead. For us today, his advice can lead us to the same assurance: "Keep a close watch on your heart. Don't get entangled in immorality. Do the next indicated thing God seems to be leading you to do. Attempt to be an imitator of Christ in your behavior. His goal was to always to do the will of the Father. Yours should be the same. Do justice. Show mercy. Be about the Father's business… Live like you love Jesus! [And] do it with more gusto than the people of this age pursue fame, fortune and power."

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