Is Your Motor Running?

When coaches see it in their players, they call it "drive" or "the will to win." When bosses see it in their employees, they call it "ambition" or "the desire to succeed." When teachers see it in their students, they call it "determination." The Lord sees it in his followers, and calls it "zeal."

The Bible says, "Never be lacking in zeal, keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). Zeal is the ardent devotion to a cause. It's the fuel that keeps your motor running.

What are you zealous about? Jesus was consumed by zeal for his Father's house (John 2:17), and he wants us to be "zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:14, NASB). Unfortunately, many of us tend to drift toward two extremes: either we care deeply about nothing, or we care deeply about the wrong things.

When Zeal Is Missing

Instead of being zealous, many today are zeal-less and cynical. Their motor may be running, but their lives are in neutral.

How sad when Christians lack passion for Christ and his work! Spiritual dullness sets in, like the way you feel when you eat too much Thanksgiving dinner—drowsy and over-stuffed. Those in positions of leadership must be especially vigilant lest we lose our fervor for God. Brennon Manning writes, "Leadership in the church is not entrusted to successful fund-raisers, brilliant biblical scholars, administrative geniuses, or spellbinding preachers . . . but to those who have been laid waste by a consuming passion for Christ—passionate men and women for whom privilege and power are trivial compared to knowing and loving Jesus."

When Zeal Is Misguided

At the opposite extreme is misguided zeal—when we care deeply about the wrong things or about things that are relatively unimportant. Some first-century Jewish leaders were "zealous for God, but their zeal was not based on knowledge" (Romans 10:2). A group of social rebels called Zealots tried to pressure Jesus into becoming a political king instead of a spiritual leader. Their zeal was misguided.

It's easy to recognize misguided zeal when Muslim terrorists fly airplanes into the World Trade Center. But on a broader scale, isn't it misguided zeal when thousands crowd into stadiums to cheer their favorite team, but won't go to church to praise their heavenly Father? Or when others rally to save the whales, but voice no protest when abortion kills a million babies a year? Or when we rearrange our schedules to watch a favorite TV show, but not to spend a few minutes in prayer? What has happened to the church when Christians divide over petty opinions while the world around us is going to Hell?

We need to be zealous for the right things! We must care deeply about what Jesus said matters most: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30, 31).

Loving the Lord has to be our top priority. Then we must pour ourselves into the noble cause of neighbor love, serving those in need. What else can compare with these great goals?

May I suggest this simple prayer? God, keep me zealous for the things that really matter. Show me what's truly important in your eyes. Move me to care deeply about those things. And let me refuse to worry about anything else. In Jesus' name, amen.