“ I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.” (Isaiah 1:14–15, The Message)
The Message here captures pretty well the strength of God's word to Israel. He is sick of their religiosity because it is only on the surface. If it really went deep; if it really affected the heart; they wouldn't be content to both continue in sin and act religious. Yet they are. Israel had syncretized religion so that they could both appear religious and do what they wanted to do.
The church in America is rapidly taking on this trait. People give lip-service to being faithful to God, but then go and do whatever they want to do, and call that faithful. What the Bible's standards are is not a consideration. We need to both speak against and guard against this tendency in every human heart. It is much easier to follow the God we would like God to be, then the God who actually is.
No comments:
Post a Comment