A guy goes in for a job at McDonald’s…
“Do you like the ‘Big Mac‘ burger?” the manager asks.
“I believe it’s the best burger in the universe!” he replies.
“Excellent! I think we can use a guy like you. Here’s a uniform and our employee’s manual. Study the book tonight and we’ll start training you tomorrow.”
The next day the guy shows up and begins training. As the boss wanders by, he drops a burger on the floor and casually picks it up, tossing it back on the grill.
The manager intervenes, “Excuse me! What are doing? Don’t you know that’s wrong? Did you even read our book? And by the way, where’s your uniform?”
“Here’s the problem, bro. I don’t believe it’s wrong and I don’t really appreciate you telling me it is. Oh, and I don’t agree with everything written in your little book, either.”
“Oh really,” the manager says, “well I’m very sorry, but you cannot work here. I’m letting you go.”
The guy storms out, but the next day he shows up for work. The manager stopped him at the counter and reminded him he was fired for failure to comply with the company manual and for thinking bad behavior was good.
He protested, “But bro, I believe the Big Mac is the best!!!”
The manager set him straight.
“What you ‘believe’ about our most famous burger isn’t relevant. Even our competition knows how great our burger is, but that’s not enough. You cannot serve here and continue to call bad behavior good, nor can you reject the portions of our policies you don’t agree with. You can show up here everyday with your belief, but it’s a ‘lie’ if you think you have a future here. If you want things ‘your way’ you should probably go to the ‘Home of the Whopper.'”
~ ~ ~
Of course this was a fictional account, but it does demonstrate a point about the Christian faith: believing Jesus is the ‘best’ is not enough. The Bible says even satan believes in Jesus.
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)
The Bible says that true Christians (believers) follow the commands of Jesus that are found in the Bible. Our belief is not merely an understanding of historical data, but a determination to act affirmatively upon that which we know to be true. It’s for this reason we cannot pick through the Bible determining which commands we like and which we reject. It just doesn’t work that way.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” – Jesus
Calling sin what God calls it (sin) is our leaping off point. We can’t repackage our illicit behavior(s) and call them lifestyle choices, nor can we argue that the Bible was written for a different time and culture. We believe God and appreciate that God cannot lie.
“For I am the LORD, I change not…Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.” (Malachi 3:6a, Hebrews 13:8)
Servants of the Lord are those who are submitted to God, regardless of how often we ‘drop the burger.’ Rather than make light of it, we recognize our errors without making excuses or worse, pretending they are something else. We don the full armor of Christ, even if it doesn’t fit as well as we’d like. We know we’re imperfect, but we also know by His grace we are saved, showing up to work each day knowing that our future is secure.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13)
If you would like this same assurance, believe in Jesus Christ similarly. It’s a kind of faith that says you trust Jesus and you desire to follow His ways. It’s also an understanding that you’re a sinner (just like the rest of us) and that you need a Savior. In other words, there’s no way for you to enter Heaven on your own; there’s just one way – through the person, divinity, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
You can learn more about it, HERE.
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 