Broken For Building

Read a scripture. Check. 
Go to church. Check. 
Sing the songs. Check. 
Say a quick prayer. Check. 
Get out of church. Check. 
Move on with my life. Check.

 In the midst of a busy life,  if we are not careful, our relationship with God becomes just another thing on the checklist. Hearing from God, spending time in His presence can quickly become something we do out of habit and not out of passion or devotion. 



I don’t think that any Christian is immune from this. In fact, if we are not intentional about it, seeking God becomes a long list of things to do without our hearts being in it.

In Matthew 15:1-8, Jesus scolded the Pharisees for being too stuck on tradition. They held on to their own traditions and beliefs and neglected God’s word. They had boxed God in and only expected Him to move in a certain way.

While tradition is a great thing, we should be careful to not let our relationship with God become just a simple tradition – something we do, just because we’ve been doing it. We lose the essence of the Word of God when we start to make it another thing to do. I’m guilty of reading a scripture just to say I read one. Is that really what God wants? 

The Word of God is alive. The Word of God is able to pierce my heart and give me new perspective. Am I allowing the Word to do what it can do in me? Matthew 15: 8 says “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Some times we give God lip service. We say all this great religious stuff without actually considering how we will walk it out. We sing great religious songs without thinking through the meaning. 

How can I know what I know about God, see all the awesome things He has done and respond in a lack luster way? Life cannot dictate how my relationship with God ends up. I have to make a conscious effort,  deliberately make it a focus. Nothing worth having comes without effort.

Lord, forgive me for all the times when I treat our relationship as just another item on the list. Convict me when I give you lip service and not my heart’s devotion. I realize that walking with you is not about simply doing a list of things, but it is about where my heart is.