The Undriven Life—The Christian Difference, Part 4 by Carolyn Cote

In a nutshell, this is the driven-life: “That’s what Christians do.”

No sane person would question the relationship between doing good and Christianity. The two are inseparable; one cannot exist without the other, right?

A more important question is, “Can I do good without Christ?”

The driven-life sources its power to “do” from your personal resources. You see, you think, you decide, you do. You drive it all, from conception to birth.

The following-life sources its power to “do” from Christ. You see, you pray, you obey. You humbly accept that you don’t know what is good or nice; only Christ knows and you must follow Him.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4

I want to soften the blow, somehow, but truth is often like moving from darkness into the light—it’s painful. My own journey of learning to follow Christ was awful. My self-confidence, which was fueled by anger at the status quo, drove me like a whip and at the young age of 22, I came into the false glory of the driven-life.