Philipians 1:21- For me to Live is Christ 

Friedrich Nietzsche said, “he who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”  Have you stopped to examine why you do what you do?  Or, do you simply find yourself swept along with the unexamined will of the group, societal group think, or your own unpremeditated impulses? 

I like Nietzsche’s quote but it doesn’t go far enough.  It’s not enough to just have a “why,” you need a powerful why.  If you merely take your kids to church because they like the children’s church, what are you going to do when they tell you they hate youth group?  If you get involved in charity work because compassion for the marginalized is trendy, what are you going to do when an opposite socio-political view prevails in the marketplace of life?  If you pray because you have a crisis, what are you going to do when life is smooth sailing? If you read the Bible because you have found a section of a book that’s interesting, what are you going to do when you run into important passages that seem boring or hard to understand?

You get my drift.  You need a robust and compelling why.  Paul communicated in Philipians 1:21, “my why is Christ.”  What if you take your kids to church because you are bound and determined that they are going to be strong Christians?  First of all, they probably won’t hate youth group if you have equipped them to be strong in faith, but even if they do, you will have taught them the maturity of endurance for the greater God because that’s what Jesus is like.  If you get involved in charity work because Christ’s love for the lost and the least compels you, you won’t flake out when society moves on, as they surely will. If you pray every day because you love and enjoy Jesus there’s no way your prayer life will be seasonal.  If you read the Bible because you believe it’s Christ’s living word it will be like eating food, you experience it’s nourishing benefit even when it doesn’t taste amazing. 

• A powerful why will sustain you through discouraging and otherwise pointless times.

I think I’ve already made that point. 

• A powerful why will cause quality people to support you.

There are great “investors” out there, looking for great causes to invest in., If you represent a great and powerful cause, they will invest in you; it’s the “law of attraction” and it works.  Most people have no idea that there are all around them incredibly competent people who are just itching to share their wealth of wisdom with a spiritual multiplier.  

• A powerful why will make it easy to simplify your life, get rid of distractions and kill energy vampires.

When people or activities don’t support your why or they are opposed to your why, you will say, “move along briskly please, I don’t have time in my life for you.”  People who have vague, weak or pathetic why’s usually live terribly cluttered and overwhelmed lives because they’re being pulled in many directions. Remember, focus is what creates power.  The difference between a swamp and mighty river is that one is focused by boundaries and the other by direction.  The difference between a light bulb and a laser beam that can cut steel is the laser is more tightly focused. 

The rest of Philipians 1:21 is “to die is gain.”  That’s the power of having Christ as the “why” in your life; the thing we all fear the most now has positive purpose and transcendent meaning.  I strongly suggest you and I start taking a deep dive into what it means to have Christ as our “why” that emboldens us to face our, “how.”