Expect More

“Expect more – pay less.” I believe that is Target’s motto. I think it means that we should expect quality and service, but that it shouldn’t cost us a lot. In many ways, it is a motto that reflects the expectation of most of us as consumers. We want good quality, but we don’t think we should have to pay a lot for it – at least that’s what we want. The other side of the coin when it comes to motto’s is “You get what you pay for.” My Dad worked to ingrain that in me. He always encouraged me to pay a little more, especially for things like shoes, tools, and appliances, because they would last longer and would be less likely to have problems.

It’s an interesting contrast when you bring these into the conversation about faith, following Jesus, and church. When we view church as a consumer, we can easily embrace Target’s motto. I expect a lot from my church (attention, programs, quality, etc.), but I don’t expect to have to give much to get it. My role is to come on Sunday. The church’s role is to meet my expectations. I’m the consumer/customer and the church is the purveyor of religious goods and services.

But most of understand that this doesn’t really work when it comes to relationships. If I don’t “invest/give” in my relationships, I know they won’t be what they could. If I just make demands on my wife and/or son/daughter but don’t invest in them, care for them, listen to them, and serve them, then I end up with broken, strained relationships with those closest to me. It may be a little crass to describe this as “getting what we pay for,” but the principle is true.

Target doesn’t have many expectations on its customers. It is doing everything it can to get you in the door and get you to buy its products. But it’s a business that wants your business and so keeping the customer happy is a primary goal. As consumers, it seems to be true that when we get a lot and don’t have to spend a lot, that we are most happy, so companies like Target live by keeping the customer happy.

But faith, following Jesus and church are not Target. The goal is definitely not to keep the customer happy.

I do think an appropriate motto might be “Expect More.” I believe that part of the reason the church is struggling and becoming less influential in our lives and culture is because our expectations have all but disappeared. I’m not talking about the unhealthy expectations we can bring into the church and even in relationship with God where we really believe the purpose of the church and God is to make us happy and keep us free from trouble. I’m talking about the expectations we place on ourselves in following God, the expectations we place on our friends/family to encourage us to follow God, and the expectations we have of God to actually act like God today. I think we expect so little of ourselves, each other, and in turn, God. We need to expect more!

We need to expect that we’d sin less and serve more. We need to expect that we’d listen to God’s direction and do what He says. We need to expect that we’d sacrifice for Him as he’s sacrificed for us. We need to expect that we’d really love our wife/husband like Christ loves the church. We need to expect that we’d raise our children in such a way that Jesus is priority, the Bible is true and incredibly helpful, and that God really does do supernatural works today.

What really do you expect of yourself in your relationship with Jesus? What do you expect of yourself as you consider your part in Christ’s body, the Church?

The only one who is really –at the end of the day- hindering your growth and keeping you from experiencing His life is YOU. We expect so little of ourselves. It’s OK not to pray, not to read the Bible, not to love people that are hard to love. It’s OK to gossip some, covet some, keep the stuff God gave us for ourselves. It’s OK to get intoxicated, lie a little, not make disciples, and definitely not share my faith with someone else. It’s OK to leave the faith development of my children up to the church.

It’s not OK! Expect more. Expect more of yourself. The “fair weather” Christian who is more driven by worldly values and avoiding discomfort actually HINDERS the gift of Jesus being experienced by others. I think it is important that we see this truth personally. If you choose to expect very little of yourself in terms of following Jesus, then you become a barrier to the people in your life seeing and receiving the gift of Jesus.

Our lukewarm approach to faith makes God sick to his stomach. He wants to spit us out.

We should expect more of each other. We’ve allowed accountability to be defined as judgment and defined judgment as bad. We’ve embraced the relativistic view of personal faith. If it works for you, then who am I to judge? We may clamor that we don’t do that with other religions, but we definitely do it within Christianity. We look away from the trees that claim to be rooted in the good soil of Jesus but yet bear no fruit. Not following Jesus has become OK in the church, as long as I keep coming to church. Church attendance has taken the place of discipleship. We should expect more of each other. I believe that is what love does and what Jesus expects of us.

How can we really call each other friends and family when we don’t talk about or share our faith? How can we define love if Jesus isn’t a part of the conversation? How can I say I love you and not encourage you to grow and be willing to rebuke complacency and sin? We like reading Paul and celebrating Jesus’ life, but we definitely might think a little differently if they wanted to be our accountability partner.

Expect more of your brothers and sisters in Christ AS you are expecting more of yourself. Nobody can follow Jesus for you, but as you expect more of yourself, it is imperative that we ask for help and expect help from fellow followers of Jesus.

Expect more from God. In no way does God need to give more. He is perfect and there is nothing He needs to do differently. But we ought to expect more of God to be seen in our lives. When we start expecting more of ourselves, we start to live by faith. When we live by faith, we open the door for God to act, and we see that God is faithful and that God can do abundantly more than we can ask for or imagine. God can heal any broken relationship. God can heal any disease. God can change any heart. God can help us walk through any tragedy. There is nothing that God can’t do. We should expect Him to act like and look like God in our lives. He may not do what we want, but it doesn’t change the fact that He could do anything.

When we live by our strength and ability, not much is possible. Hence, we don’t often risk or step out of what is comfortable. But in His strength and ability, all things are possible, so there is always HOPE.

Expect more. Give yourself away. Watch what God will do. You have nothing to lose (that's worth keeping) and everything to gain.