"These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." {Matthew 15:8,9}
The scribes and Pharisees, as was their custom, were trying to find fault with our Lord or His teachings. In this account, they sought to bind their traditions on Him and His disciples, thereby transgressing God's commandments! Jesus quoted from Isaiah 29:13, clearly exposing the true character of their hearts. For you see, their service to God's Son was only lip service. Their hearts were far from God. Unfortunately, people today are not much different.
When I was thirteen years old, I became a child of God. My parents, mostly my mother, took my three brothers and me to church services. So as the saying goes, "I was raised in the church." Many years have passed since those days--my own children are grown and are forming their own homes. Sadly, the environment, or at least part of it, for today's teenagers is not much different than it was when I was young. Allow me to explain.
Early on in my life as a Christian, one of the things that I noticed was a lack of consistency in the lives of some older Christians. Yes, they were always present at all services, gave of their means, and did all those "external" things correctly. Still, something appeared to be missing from their lives. When I was with them during the week, they behaved much differently than on Sunday. I couldn't help wondering why. Back then, I didn't understand why--today, I see much more clearly.
These people were just "playing church," going through the motions. In essence, they were performing. We still have these kinds of "players" in the Lord's church. Too many who claim to be Christians have the same problems the first-century Pharisees had. Their hearts are "far away from God."
Who/what comes first in your life? "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." {Matthew 6:33} Would any of the following be good reasons for you to miss a worship service: out-of-town guests for the weekend; vacationing where there is no church; children's school events; early wake-up to go to work; special TV programs or major sporting events during the times of meeting? When you produce your monthly budget, what comes first? If you need to make cuts, is your church contribution the first thing you consider cutting?
How did you fare in this little test? If you consider any of these reasons, or a similar one, acceptable--where, dear reader, is your heart? Does God accept "leftover" religion? My children used to "play church." Sadly, many of our brethren still are.