Faust was the fellow who sold his soul to the Devil. The story is a confirmation of Jesus' words, " What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world, but lost his own soul?"
To be Faustian has come to mean the hubris resident in a person whose drive is to put themselves at the center of all things. No price is too high for the lusty high one gets when even for a brief time, when all things fall at your feet.This hubris is the sure way to defeat God's purpose in one's life. We have sold ourselves out to getting our own needs met through ministry, rather than finding the joy of living for others.
One of the thoughts that has helped me to recapture my wandering soul are the words of C.S. Lewis. Speaking of the purpose of the Church, " it exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose." [Mere Christianity]
Our purpose on earth is to choose the life Jesus chose for Himself. A life of humility, submission, obedience and sacrifice. Nothing Faust would of gone for, but Jesus did and as His disciples, we choose the same life. So don't waste your time on all that Lewis mentions unless it is focused on transformation of our persons into the likeness of Jesus.
