Many mountaineers and climbers desire to reach the summit Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, despite the number of deaths reported each year as well the dangers that are presented even if the climber makes it back alive.

The commitment to their goal is astonishing and makes me ask myself whether I as a Christian have the same goal spiritually: Do I desire to climb the mountain of God?

I am speaking figuratively. Like the people who are dying to reach the peak of Mount Everest, are we dying to get to that point where we are at the peak of our walk with God? Do we desire to rise up from where we are now, and reach a different level in our faith?  And to what lengths are we prepared to go to make that happen?  

Altitude sickness

Everest's climbers know the dangers of climbing the mountain. In an article in Live Science, scientists explain the dangers of climbing and what is known as altitude sickness (also called acute mountain sickness), which is caused by a lack of oxygen as the person reaches a higher altitude. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, nausea and fatigue. Climbers who experience this are advised to stop climbing, and go down if conditions worsen.

Spiritually, there's also a form of altitude sickness. When a person is high on himself and not on the Lord, there's what we call pride, which is caused by a lack of humility. Are you experiencing this? Some Christians experience this when they enjoy the limelight; the attention they get when they are seen to be serving well; or even when somebody praises them, and they do not ascribe the glory to the Lord.

Those who are suffering from this sickness are advised to humble themselves, because "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6, Proverbs 3:34).

Get Higher

Another problem is the fact that some climbers don't know when to stop climbing, and end up putting their lives in danger.

"Too often, people refuse to turn around when they should because they can see the summit and think it's close enough to justify continuing," said Dr. Eric Weiss, a professor of emergency medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Spiritually, have we ever stopped to think if we are going overboard with ourselves or goals that don't have God at their heart? The Bible tells us to "examine [ourselves] to see whether [we] are in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Some of us probably forget to check out hearts and motives once in a while to see if we are still in line with God's. Check yourself.

Climbing Mount Everest is a dream for many, but for Christians, our desire must be to climb up higher into our relationship with God.