When Religion Becomes Routine
Ponder: Striving for balance in your relationship with God.
Scripture: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NKJV).
As Christians, our fellowship with God is intimate and personal. Each of us should strive constantly to fine-tune that relationship.
Two extremes threaten our communion with God. One of them is: “Cold, Indifferent Formalism.” The other is: “Cheap, Irreverent Familiarity.” Over-reaction to one often leads to the other.
Cold, indifferent formalism occurs when religion becomes routine. Worship becomes an end within itself. It's Sunday morning, so we assemble with the brethren -- not because our hearts thrill at the songs of Zion, or because we crave the bread of life, but simply because assembling at the church building is what we do on Sunday morning. We say prayers instead of praying prayers; we mouth the words to songs while our minds wander; we eat the bread and drink the cup, but scarcely consider Him who said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."
Sometimes the Jews became infected with formalism. They offered sick or stolen animals, thus going through the motions of sacrifice without any real expense (Malachi 1:13). They fasted and prayed, but were concerned only that other people would see and praise them (Matthew 6:5-18). Few things drew our Lord's wrath any more strongly than cold, indifferent formalism.
Oddly enough, cheap, irreverent familiarity also results from religion becoming routine. We lose sight of the awesomeness of the God we worship. Our heavenly Father becomes our Daddy-o, and our divine savior becomes our pal. Rather than striving to become more like God, we treat God as though He is one of us
Between these extremes lies the proper mindset: “Genuine, sincere godliness.” This attitude recognizes that God is not our buddy; but neither is He some distant, detached deity. "He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:27, 28). Let us make certain that routine religion does not ruin our relationship with Him!
Song: “Holy, Holy, Holy”
Prayer: Almighty God, we stand in awe of You. We thank and praise you for giving us a close, personal relationship with you through Christ. May we never take it for granted. Through Jesus we pray, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)