SO WHAT???

This question has haunted me ever since my sophomore year in high school. My Modern World History teacher, Ralph Witkovich, started it and it has never left my mind.

A bit of background (stay with me now...), before his class, I had always been conditioned to put the answer on the paper when a question was asked. Like Dragnet, I believe....:"the facts...just the facts." When I got to his class, our first quiz had one question, "Describe the something something something of 1549." I wrote one paragraph, nice and succinct and turned it in. When I got it back, I was astounded to see that I had gotten a big "D" and what followed is what stuck with me "SO WHAT???"

I learned how to deal with Mr Wit. He didn't want you to just put down the facts. He already knew them. He wanted you to elaborate (BS, even) about how they mattered in the grand scheme of things. One of his exams went this way "Take out a pack of pens and a ream of paper and start writing, you chumps!" In his 6 ft 4 in, 235 pound voice. I learned in that class and his American History class my junior year, the fine art of regurgitation, giving him back all of the detail that he covered from quiz to quiz, exam to exam. Do I remember all of the history??? Nope. Not one of my stronger subjects, tho' he made it a whole lot more interesting than it would have been if I had had any other teacher.

The lesson of the first quiz is the most valuable thing I've learned out of all that he taught. Since becoming a Christian, I've tried to carry that same attitude over to my Christian life. So what?? So much of what we do as Christians is because we've always done it that way, or it is what is expected of us, for whatever reason.

Recently, I've become affiliated with a new church. They ask that question pertaining to everything they do. If it doesn't bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, they stop it and go seek God for His direction to do something else. "Ok, we come to church on sunday morning....so what? How is this going to bring people into the kingdom, or equip them so they can lead someone into the kingdom?"

I've been asking the same question lately of my entire life. I work...so what? I go to church...so what? I spend time with my kids when its my turn....so what? I fix computers...so what? I have a blossoming relationship with a great gal....so what?

If what David wrote in the Psalm 90:10 is correct and we get 3 score and 10 years (70) or if be measure of strength four score (80), over half my life is gone. What have I done that has made any difference in the Kingdom of God????? If I can't answer that as positively as I would like, then what am I going to do about it, so it does make a difference???? My time is short. I gotta be about the King's business...and so do you.

To me, Jesus' most indicting comments appear in Matthew 7:20-23 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?' (Hey Lord, I went to church, had bible studies and revival meetings with dinner on the grounds and prayed in tongues and know my theology so I could win every argument with the cult members!!)

Jesus' reply is sobering. 23 "And then I will declare to them, (in essence, SO WHAT????) 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' NAS

Wow!!! Come on, God....lawlessness???? Can't you cut these people some slack?? They did all these "good things" for you!! But God doesn't care about the things we do. He can make donkeys talk and do His will. He can make rocks cry out if we will not praise Him. He cares about our relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, first. Then He cares that we understand how being a Christian fits into the grand scheme of things, Eph 2:10--we being His workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus for good works... He wants us to understand that the Christian life isn't about us, but about building His kingdom and Him getting glory. He wants us to do as the Apostle Paul...that we know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, that we may be conformed to Him in the likeness of His death (Phil 3:10). It's not about us doing stuff, just because we've always done it that way. It's about examining every area of our lives and doing only what He leads us to do, so we operate at out maximum effectiveness for Him, so we're not wasting our time out and about in the world. God wants us to "redeem the time, for the days are evil" (Eph 5:16).

This is a hard thing for me. I'm a 21st century, western cultured Christian. I've got it easy. Will people around me hear, "depart from me" cause I've got my life on cruise control?? Because this is the way it's been for the last 20 years??? What are you and I doing with the days and hours of our lives, so that others will benefit and hear Jesus say "enter into the joy of your master?"

May we all be found faithful and may we never hear that dreaded question from the Lord, "so what??"