Module 3 - The Final Third

I got a flat behind.  I know there are many flat-assers out there who resonate.

I recently got a personal trainer. Partly because. well no fully because, my arms are still the same size they were as when I was doing my music BTEC. I’m 35 now. Now that’s not a phase anymore, that’s a conscious lifestyle choice on my end. My grace for 'i'm in a development period' ran out about a decade ago. My metabolism has already collected it's pension, hands out Werther Originals and plays bowls on weekdays.

I have all this back stiffness, so I assumed the issue was.. well the back. It turns out the main issues was weak glutes. Yep a flat ass. There was basically nothing there, like Milton Keynes in the 60's, nothing.

And that’s the problem: when one muscle is weak, the others overcompensate, get pissed off, and that’s where injury happens. Muscle imbalance is one of the main causes of injury.

I think it's the same in the Church.

Romans 14:17 – “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Paul doesn't present one kingdom value he presents 3. Righteousness, peace and joy.They reveal how God's kingdom operates.

Have we developed a spiritual muscle imbalance?

Has the Church got a flat behind?

Has it atrophied?

If the joy muscle isn’t being used, righteousness and peace start overcompensating. Suddenly everything feels heavy, serious, strained.

We’re technically healthy—but we’re not moving well. We are not moving how we are designed to function.

Righteousness without joy slowly drifts towards legalism.

Peace without joy quietly settles into passivity and sloth.

We don't want to be running at 66%.

Especially in Britain.. Joy can feel… suspicious. That's being generous..

If someone is genuinely joyful, expressive or playful, people get their judges wig and gavel and make a verdict."They're a bit much.""They're immature."

" How much attention do you need?"

In England if you’re too joyful, people have already assumed it's either ADHD or autism.

Joy gets mistaken for silliness. Silliness gets mistaken for weakness. 

Meanwhile stoicism gets discerned as maturity. We've somehow concluded that the less emotional you appear, the holier you must be. I honestly don't think that's what the Lord looked like.

Children ran towards Him. Not away from Him. He went to weddings. He enjoyed meals with people. He was criticised for celebrating too much.

Hebrews even says He was anointed with the oil of joy above His companions.

I’m convinced most Christians are running at about 66% alive. We’ve got righteousness down… We’ve got the peace… but joy? Hello??? We’ve settled at this mediocre place called “joy lite.”

We are running at joy deficit.

In terms of what the church emphasises, we’ve smashed righteousness out the park: We all know don’t watch porn, love your neighbour if they are at least semi-normal, don’t smash the place up, no Christian sex before you put a ring on it, donate your crocs to charity shops etc. Righteousness. Tick. Emphasised. We are aware.

We're comfortable with peace:“Do you have peace about it?”“Lord, we just pray for peace in this situation…" 'I just felt this peace' Yep tick. Emphasised. Aware.

But, how often do we actually pro-actively and include joy as an emphasis. As a value. As even as a realistic option. I'm not talking about by-product joy, “peace that leads to joy.” Or "Peace and righteousness with a few chuckle brothers thrown in." (RIP Barry) I'm talking about one third of the kingdom here.

I think we the church like the idea of joy in theory—but only at appropriate times. Controlled environments. Never too much, and definitely not weird.

We like joy in the 1 minute transition gap after a worship set where they say 'lift up a cheer', joy that's your slot knock yourself out go get it!

Let's put it in football terms: (This seems the only way I learn these days) How many pundits talk about the final third. The final third where the action happens. You have to enter the final third if you actually want to score. This is where games are won, not the halfway line.

What if joy is the final third of the Kingdom?

What happens if we could raise our joy level to the same level as our righteousness and peace level? Suddenly we are operating at above 66%.

Setting the captives free doesn’t always have to be serious. Isaiah didn't give explicit instructions that it had to be intense and somber. Not everything has to be a deliverance bro. I think if any emotion personified freedom the most it would it not be laughter?

The gospel is better news than a mere behaviour modification program. Our inheritance is more than adhering to the rulebook and being culturally irrelevant. True inheritance is true abundance, now. John 10:10.

We need step into it, claim it.

Why can't we be in a  joy surplus. Is that not allowed? Are we not allowed to have offensive joy. Isn't that who we are? We challenge the pharisaical spirit. We challenge cultural norms, we live from a different governance system I thought. Dual citizens no?  I thought that was what we signed up for.

So I am committed to continue living out a joy that is offensively higher than the appropriate allocated amount. We should have a joy that is provocative. A joy that forces people into a decision.

Crizzos i'll end with this.

What if we've got it wrong, what if actually the thing that attracts people to our faith is our joy rather than how well we behave? Joy is our weapon. Our joy is one of our biggest evangelistic tools!

I believe the Church at large needs to be reintroduced to joy—because joy mirrors the one we represent. Let the joy re-education program commence.