Am I a Christian zombie?
Now that’s an interesting question you might be thinking. Freeze that first picture that just raced through your mind. Everyone knows what a zombie is. In our culture they have become folk heroes, video game celebrities, and movie icons. It might even be chic, bad, hot, rad, or cool (depending on your generational language) to be a zombie.
Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s get a working definition for a zombie. It’s a dead body that appears alive. I could give a more graphic description of one but this will suffice. We use the term “zombie” as slang denoting someone who is just one click on the life meter above a corpse. We’ve all had days when we just wandered around in a funk or fog wondering what I am doing. I’m breathing air, occupying space, but getting nothing done. You know what I mean—it’s the dead man walking syndrome.
It’s very easy to do the same thing in our relationship with God. Most of us, if we’re honest, have. You may have been weary and exhausted, caught in some sin, discouraged, or hurt by someone you trusted, and then all of a sudden you woke up two weeks later and found yourself mindlessly coasting—your spiritual gear knocked into neutral. That’s what I mean by a Christian zombie—going through motions but making absolutely no difference in the Kingdom of God.
I’m not talking about being a Pharisee—a hypocrite. They belong to another class of zombies for which I don’t have the time, energy, desire, or word space to describe. I am talking to regular people who love Jesus, follow Jesus, but without knowing it, are aimlessly wandering around out in right field in the high grass near the bleachers, and can’t remember how they got there.
Right now might be a good time to test yourself and see where you land in the zombie zone. January is always a good month for self-evaluation—a good time to check your spiritual oil. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I existing but not living abundantly? In other words, am I just here getting by? Jesus said in John 10:10 that He had come that we might have life, and might have it abundantly. That means a life of superabundance—excessively good—over and above—life over the top.
- Am I modeling a powerless life? Is my life marked by religious piety—that mindless list of do’s and don’ts. A life externally shaped to look one way, but on the inside a life totally empty, like a Hollywood movie set— a hollow, powerless façade. Do I hold a form of godliness, yet I have denied its power? (2 Timothy 3:5a).
- Does my daily walk require faith? Am I walking naturally or supernaturally? If the Holy Spirit decided to step out could I survive without Him? Perhaps I am walking without him—walking without any faith whatsoever? A faithless walk is a natural walk that does not require God to get by.
- Does my outward reputation match my inward devotion? Is there any passion or do I have it all—job, family, the right church, membership in the right organization, etc…? Do I look good on the outside but feel dead on the inside?
To sum it all up in one simple question:
If Jesus had preached the gospel I’m living right now, would they have crucified him?