Some time back (July 7th), I wrote a post titled "Why We Do What We Do," which explained why we as a nation act as we do. If you wish, you can re-read it here. Zechariah 7:5-6 states:
5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?
It's a very simple message, one that we all nod our heads knowingly to when we're asked why we do what we do--we do it for God's glory, of course.
But do we? Is every minute in worship, devotions, or Bible study dedicated solely on God and God alone? Do we set aside quality time at our religious holidays to ponder their significance? I don't ask these questions as a grand inquisitor, but as one who is as guilty in deficiency in these matters as anyone. We have a tendency to blame short attention spans on the bombardment of outside influences on us, but people have been just as distracted since the beginning of time--it's only the distractions that have changed.
Lucky for us, it doesn't matter. If we really presented ourselves before the Lord with our checklist of what we did ("Look God, I went to church almost 200,000 times, gave over $200,000 [actually closer to $20,000, I just rounded up], served in so many church functions I can't remember, didn't beat my wife [much]..."), would you really be interested in hearing the list of our shortcomings that God could mention? He'd have eternity to get through it, and for me, it probably would take that long.
In those moments when we find ourselves going through the motions, take a moment and read the first four verses of tomorrow's (September 11th) reading--it's all the reminder you'll ever need. Since we can't earn our salvation, why act like it? If we focus our efforts on thanksgiving, we truly will be worshiping the Lord and not doing things for ourselves.
Scott
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