Something to Ponder

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

I’ve noticed a new habit developing with my little dog, Nikos. Every time I take him out to potty, he runs back to his kennel, rushes in and looks up to me expectantly for a treat. I am, in part, responsible for this. Since being in his kennel was a habit I was trying to reintroduce after not using it for some time, I would give him a treat when he went in as instructed. Now, he expects it every time whether I tell him to or not. It’s no longer special to get a treat, it’s expected.

Are we like that with God? He, too, blesses us but have we gotten so casual about it we take it for granted?

I go to church, why didn’t God answer my prayer?

I give offerings, why is trouble always hitting me, Lord?

I show up and serve when others don’t, how come I’m not in a position?

I’m a good person, bless me!    

Like Nikos, have we gotten to a place where we think we should be rewarded for doing the things we are suppose to do? Has our service gotten goal-oriented where we are watching for and expecting a specific blessing; a tit-for-tat mentality with God?

Already we hear more and more people changing churches because they ‘prefer’ another way to worship. Music is too loud or not fast enough, the order or length of the service doesn’t suit them, my needs aren’t being met, no one is friendly to me, and ‘I’m not getting anything out of it’ is a common battle cry, too. It all boils down to, “Where’s my treat (blessing, acknowledgment) for showing up?”

When did the focus of worshiping God become all about us and our personal preferences? Who said we get to dictate the terms anyway? I’m NOT saying we should stay in a church where the foundational beliefs are not in line with ours, but when it comes down to choosing where we attend based on what we get out of it instead of what we put into it, something is out of whack. Going to church is all about corporate worship of the Lord. People have made it about personal comfort and preference for themselves.

I have a theory. I think some people only get into the Word of God on Sundays when in church and expect to get all their ‘learning’ there. If they don’t learn something, the church is letting them down. Their exposure to Christian music in limited to Sunday mornings, too, so they feel entitled to regulate that. They are coming to church expecting to be served, educated and entertained instead of coming to serve and worship the Lord with all that is in them. They are sitting at the kennel door looking up in expectancy for their treat for even showing up.

I think what we have here is a case of ‘the tail wagging the dog’. Is that really how we think God would have us worship Him?