Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Mid-Week Message - Discount Faith

We do most of our shopping at a discount retail store that everyone knows.  We do that because the prices are consistently less and it's a "one stop shop".  There are grocery stores here that carry better quality produce and higher quality meats that we would rather shop at but watching what we are spending is important.  We buy a lot of store brands and choose lower quality goods that will meet our immediate needs in order to stay within our budget.  You probably do at least a bit of this as well. 

"Less is more" is a popular mantra these days.  If we spend less on everyday things, we have more to spend on things we will enjoy, like entertainment.  Tiny houses are getting a lot of media time because people are choosing to spend less, be more mobile and experience life aside from heavy debt burdens.  Many young people are opting not to attend college because of the monetary cost.  It seems like responsibility is a lot less desirable than it once was.

What happens if we allow this to carry over into our spiritual lives? Does the "less is more" idea work there too?  In a way it would.  If we spend less time on earthly matters and more time in prayer and in our relationship with Jesus, then "less" would help to achieve "more."  However, less would definitely not be more if we spend less time in prayer or worship or study.  In any relationship, time is important.  Communication is important.  The more time we spend with someone and the better we communicate with them, the more and better we will know them and that objective of a healthy relationship.

Is there such a thing as "discount faith?"  I believe there is.  I have been in churches where the main idea seems to be to entertain the congregation rather than to focus on the inerrant Word of God. Simply speaking pleasing words from the pulpit rather than speaking the truth of the scriptures is one example but there are others.  A few years ago, I knew a young man whose church sponsored a hard rock night for kids of the area. He said it was a Christian group. however the lyrics couldn't be understood because they were screamed and the music was exceedingly loud.  In addition, there was a mosh pit.  Pardon me for asking what the message was that night.  I fail to understand how appearing to be the same as the world could draw anyone to Jesus.  

There are many areas of life where it is acceptable to cut corners.  We certainly should be good stewards of our money and our time.  Life is temporary and we will only have so many resources at our disposal.  Buying ground beef rather than steak makes sense if you are on a budget.  Shopping at second hand stores rather than high priced clothing shops is smart.  Taking time and effort away from the Lord though, is not.  He created us and desires to spend time with us.  He gave us His Word so that we can know Him.  Faith increases as our knowledge of and relationship with Him grows.  As young lovers desire to spend every moment with each other, so should our love for the Lord create in us a desire to spend more and more time with Him.  It is worth every second.

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