Into the Fire

Writers, publishers, agents, editors, and politicians all have this in common: using clichés or becoming clichéd. That’s just a short list. Unfortunately we could add Christians to this list. Or atheists for that matter. We can all be guilty of spouting phrases, beliefs, philosophies, and truths that have become clichés. Uninteresting. Mere words. Why is that? When could the truth possibly be “cliché”?

Everything becomes cliché when it isn’t backed up with passion, action, and conviction. When things are tossed out of mouths like so much spit simply because the words live somewhere in the mindset but haven’t been pursued with much vigor in some time. The words have simply become the “right” thing to say in whatever circumstance. Boring and ineffectual commentary. Revealing nothing more than a watered down opinion about . . . whatever.

Politically correct, acceptable dialogue, a business decision, the mantras of religion reduced to clichés.

When the things of God are reduced to these useless utterances, generated as a generic pacifier for some difficult or joyful situation, what does this say about our Christian-ese? Our vocabulary renders the anointed scriptures mundane, like so much old slang or colloquialism. The most vibrant words ever written or spoken, and we bandy them about like any other phraseology, assuming their meaning accompanies our usage. What makes them become real to someone else? That very anointing with which they were written. God-ordained direction. Spirit-led diction. Heard of it? Not likely these days.

With prayers made casually and seldom with fervor in our everyday lives when nothing is particularly wrong, our walk with the Lord becomes stale, assumed, stagnant, and usually not in evidence to the average outsider and often not to our insiders either. Our “faith” has become clichéd. Travel weary, well worn like an old shoe ready for the garbage if it just wasn’t so darn comfortable.

Maybe that’s why so many neck hairs raise up at the mention of Christian fiction. Maybe Christianity itself has become cliché in the mind and spirits of its readers, writers, and promoters. Maybe it’s no more than what some Christians assume other Christians expect or want. Now before you chime in with your vehement “Yeah, yeahs” in agreement with this suggestion, those of you who’ve read very little of it don’t get a voice here. The reason for that is because there is some truly profound stuff being written by Christian authors and published by Christian publishers—novels you’ve never read, lots of them. In your particular category or genre, if you’ve read several novels I’ll give you an opinion, but if you think you can chime in with blanket criticism of the whole gamut of the scene, you’re speaking from an uninformed position.

I’m referring here to the actual lack of spiritual depth evidenced by some believers. Oh, we can quote scripture after scripture, but when do we listen to the voice of God and determine what He wants for us as individuals? “Spirit-led” isn’t a “religious” euphemism. It’s life lived for God. Personally directed by God. An obedience to God. How can that be clichéd when done effectively? We can spout reverence and awe, but we can’t communicate in the workplace? We can’t live it where we work? We can’t write it from the depths of our soul because it might sound too preachy? Not if it comes from a Spirit-led place.

As you might assume, I’m weary of namby-pamby believers. Quick to point out a snappy characteristic of our Savior, quote an apropos verse, smugly judge, or complacently ignore, there is no observable difference between them and the world besides their vocabulary. The rebel believers cuss, swear, and drink to prove their liberation from legalism. The pious believers shun those who cuss, swear, and drink to prove their holiness.

When business becomes more important than faith, when clichés replace meaningful commentary, when actual practice of beliefs becomes secondary to fitting in, when justifying wrongdoing overrides being responsible for sin, and when prayer slips away from our reality, what do we expect from our lives, our selves? What?

Clichés often render truthful statements, but with no gumption behind them to demonstrate why they could be useful . . . they become what they are—trite and useless.

God, help us to be on fire for you, to display the Truth with boldness, to be impassioned with your glory, to make a difference amidst the evil, to allow our hearts to beat for you, to desire to do your will. Please. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.