No one can serve two masters. Matthew 6:24
A number of years ago I worked security at a church camp. After the evening service we stood near the exit in an effort to keep traffic from racing down the access road and through the gate.
I'll never forget the look on one young man's face as he sullenly and slowly drove past. Just before he pulled on to the highway, he cranked his car stereo as loud as it could go and then pealed out leaving a little smoke and rubber behind.
No man can serve two masters. This young man didn’t realize his little act of rebellion was just a clear indication of where his heart really was. You can't act piously in church and then live any way you want to outside the church. Either you're in or you're not and riding the fence just leads to hypocrisy.
There's a new book out that talks about how teen-agers are faking Christianity. The author interviewed a large number of teens and found out that many are just pretending to be Christians. They really don’t know what it means to be a true disciple of Christ because they've never really seen it in action.
One of the biggest influences on the lives of those teens who have real faith are parents and other adults who live what they believe. Using the author's word, they have a "radical" faith, one that is not only lived out in church (or at a church camp) but also everywhere they go every day of the week. The have but one master--Jesus.
Hypocrisy is killing the church. As Joshua challenged the Israelites, we need to "decide this day whom [we] will serve." The time has long since past for radical faith.
What choice will you make?
| Home | Archived Devotions | Map to church | Church calendar |