Lip service or a true heart??

"Becky has a house on Abundant Life Blvd.

A good name, a good family, and butterflies in her yard

Becky loves Jesus and really wants to make him proud

She tears up in church and she sings her harmonies loud

She's got a Bible by the bed, a prayer journal, and a fish on her car

She makes sure to bow her head and give thanks in every restaurant

But is that enough?"  Chris Rice - Becky & Me

     These lyrics challenge me. We often hear the stories about people who are able to put up a great show for everyone to show how religious they are, or maybe even how truly Christ-like they are, but they aren't doing anything more than that. I have taught Sunday school on and off for about 5 years now, I've been on the worship teams, and I've been involved in lots of other ministries that make me a church person. But this song challenges me to think, and I think that I am falling short.

     Showing up to church a couple times a week is easy. Reading your Bible and praying before every meal is simple. It's even pretty undemanding to stand at the front of the sanctuary and raise your hands during worship. The potential problem is whether or not our hearts live the religious life we lead.

     "And so the Lord says, 'These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote." Isaiah 29:13 NLT

     I don't ever want to be someone who has forgotten why I seek the disciplines and get involved in the ministries I do. I feel like there is a quota I have to meet, or at least make people think I meet it, in order to keep on being a Christian. If I don't meet that quota, people won't think I am quite as "spiritual."

     The Lord has used this song to convict me. My heart has been, "...far from...", Him. Is yours?? I am not writing this because of anyone but myself. I know people are in the same situation as I am, I just hope this will make them think about it. The long lost discipline of honest, heart-felt, truth-seeking self evaluation could do us all a lot of good.

     Please, think about it. Does this apply to your life?? Is your heart not where your ministry is? Are you trying too hard to impress people with your white-washed tomb, all the while you are dead inside? Do you read Scripture and then just put it down when you are done so you can check it off the list of things that "good church people" do or does the God inspired Word of Truth rattle and convict you every time you read it? If living the life that God has called you to is at all important to you, ask yourself these questions and seek God to find out if your heart is where it should be.

     I think it goes without saying but just in case, you have to want to know the truth about whether or not you measure up to God's standard, and His standard is not simply filling out your daily report and holding out your hand for the "Atta Boy!" you think you deserve.

      Let's seek our Father and change our world.