Survive or Thrive

A sermon preached by The Reverend Scott D. Nowack on February 12, 2012

at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.

“Survive or Thrive”

2 Kings 5:1-11

I Corinthians 9:24-27

Mark 1: 40-45

The leper who asks Jesus to heal him is tired.  He’s tired of living as an outcast.  He’s tired of limited human contact.  He’s tired of yelling “unclean” as he walks down the street.  He’s tired of seeing the horrified looks he receives from those who pass him by.  He’s tired of wondering where and when he will get his next meal.  He’s tired of just surviving.  He wants to change.  He wants to live life differently.  He wants to be healed, so he can thrive and not merely survive.  He believes Jesus can help him.

To survive or to thrive: this is the question before us. 

What does it mean to survive?  We hear this word used a great deal these days.  There are those who survived Hurricane Katrina; there is the million dollar winner who survives on the reality TV show “Survivor”, and the famous disco hit song by Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive”.  A survivor is someone who has been deeply affected by a major tragedy, such as a natural disaster, a major health crisis, a divorce or the loss of a loved one.  The grief and sorrow can be so overwhelming.  To survive is to hold on for your dear life to what you know, to what is familiar. 

There are many of us who, for whatever reason, find ourselves stuck in survival mode.  There are many of us who find ourselves stuck in the past, in the nostalgia of the good old days.  And there are many of us who are just getting by, trying hard to make ends meet, living paycheck to paycheck, meal to meal, and job to job.  You find yourself one step or more behind where you need to be; you’re reactive rather than pro-active.  If you have ever fallen behind paying your bills, you know how much time and effort it takes to catch up.  It can be overwhelming.  It’s a way of living that stifles our spirit and smothers our hearts.

My friends, we were not created to merely survive; to be born, make money and die.  I know each of us can remember at least one time in our lives when we were just trying to survive.  I am here to tell you today that we were not created to merely survive.  We were created in the image of God and put on this earth to live for Him; to thrive and grow where we are planted; to be the full and complete person God created us to be. 

Is there someone here today who is tired of just surviving?  Is there someone here today who has lived in survival mode long enough and like the leper wants to thrive?  The scripture texts today can help us to make this change; to move us from just surviving to thriving.

The first is to live a life of humility.  The leper who Jesus healed put his pride aside and with a humble heart knelt before Jesus.  He doesn’t demand to be healed.  He believes Jesus can do it for him if Jesus so chooses.  After he’s healed by Jesus, he doesn’t keep it to himself.  He doesn’t go back to where he was before.  His sense of gratitude leads him out into unchartered waters to share this with everybody he sees.  He is truly thankful for what Jesus did for him.  Thankfulness is an act of humility.

Of course, we should not forget Naaman.  He, too, has leprosy and needs healing.  With pride and arrogance, Naaman comes to Elisha for healing.  He is furious with Elisha because Elisha would not come out to greet him.  He sent a messenger instead, a sign of disrespect in Naaman’s mind.  By doing so, Elisha puts Naaman in his place, knocks his ego down a few notches, and gives him a cure that sounds totally ridiculous and one only a humble person would dare to try: bathing seven times in the Jordan River.  Naaman shows his arrogance in his reaction to Elisha’s instructions when he says that the rivers of Syria are much better than the Jordan River.  Humbling himself, Naaman does what Elisha instructed and was healed with the skin of a young boy.  In order to thrive and be healed, we need an attitude of humility.

The second thing we need is a purpose or a goal.  I once saw a cartoon showing two men on Mars looking down at the people on Earth scurrying here, there and everywhere.  One said to the other, “What are they doing?” 

The other replied, “They are going.” 

The first man said, “But where are they going?” 

“Oh,” said the other, “they are not going anywhere; they are just going.”

To go just anywhere is the way to arrive nowhere.  In order to thrive, we must live with purpose.  What is your purpose in life?

The Apostle Paul uses two familiar sports analogies in his letter to the church in Corinth to illustrate what living without a purpose can look like: running aimlessly and boxing the air.  Have you ever tried running aimlessly?  Running without direction or a finish line will get you nowhere.  Or boxing the air?  Other than as a little warm up, boxing the air doesn’t get you anywhere either, except maybe a little sweaty.  To thrive we must live with purpose.  We need a clear goal to aim for; a finish line to run to, a person or challenge to fight and defeat.  God has a purpose for your life and God has a purpose for the church of Jesus Christ.  Through prayer and reflection, we can begin to discover what God has in store for us.

The third thing we need is self-discipline.  Paul writes, “Athletes exercise self-control in all things.” (I Corinthians 9:25a)  And he goes on to say, “I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9: 27)  Paul is telling us we can’t thrive if we lack self-discipline and self-control.  Anybody can set a goal, but unless you discipline yourself, you’re not gonna reach it.  You have to talk the talk and walk the walk.

Humility, purpose and self-discipline will lead us in the right direction.  Do you want to survive or do you want to thrive?  

Many years ago I bought a Duke University t-shirt in a gift shop at the Charlotte International Airport.  This was back when the Duke men’s basketball team won back-to-back national championships.  On the front of the shirt, it read, “You can talk the game, but can you play the game?”  On the back, in large letters, above the school logo, it read, “We can play!” 

Can we play the game?  Are we willing to undertake disciplined training for the sake of the Gospel?  We are called to pay the price of sacrifice and discipline in order to play the game rightly to win the heavenly prize.  We are called to thrive rather than just survive.

We are incomplete and hurting; we’re living in survival mode.  Jesus Christ wants to enter into our lives to heal us from our sins so we can live life differently.  So we can thrive where we are planted, so we can play the game as it was meant to be played, to live with purpose, freedom and discipline; and in doing so we serve to witness to the entire world through our words and actions, the authentic and true power of God in Jesus Christ and God’s purpose for all humankind.  

By serving one another, encouraging the faint hearted, and helping the weak by sharing God’s love with them, we will all thrive!  Amen.