It is 33 degrees this morning … brrrr! It’s officially sweater-weather. Last Sunday I pulled out one of my favorite fluffy comfy sweaters to wear to church. As I was getting ready, I noticed that the button on my pants was snug. Not only that! … there was a bit of flab hanging over my waistline! (horror of horrors!) Never mind … I can just cover it all up with this big fluffy sweater and no one will ever know.
Hiding the evidence!
I was headed to church, so I couldn’t help but think: How many of us do this exact same thing when it comes to our spiritual lives?
It’s that season when the Pumpkin Cheesecake is available at Costco! Yumness! And Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin loaf with amazing cream-cheese frosting! A slice of this, a little bit of that. Not a ton, mind you. Just a bit this day, a bit that day. And slowly, bit by bit the flab around the middle starts growing.
We do this exact same thing spiritually. We consume a little bit of this which is not healthy for us spiritually. A bit of inappropriate tv viewing. A bit of gossip. A bit of slander on social media. A bit of resentment. A bit of unforgiveness. Not a ton, mind you. Just a bit this day, a bit that day.
Bit by bit the spiritual flabbiness starts growing. Added to that, we haven’t been “spiritually exercising” … we haven’t been reading God’s Word, we haven’t been taking to God in prayer.
But never mind … we can just cover it all up with a fluffy façade of “Christianese.” We are really good at looking “Christian” when it comes to Sundays!
We might not have touched our Bible all week … but we are really good at quoting verses with the best of the best!
We might not have talked to God in prayer all week … but we are really good at acting super “spiritual.” We might not have cared in the least about the hurting around us all week … we might not have even thought about anyone in need … but we look terrific in our “Christianese” each Sunday.
Watch out for spiritual “flab.” Watch what you are consuming spiritually. Make sure you are “exercising” spiritually. Otherwise, your façade of spiritual “Christianese” is simply a fake cover-up, to hide the evidence of the bulging “spiritual-flab” that’s truly underneath.
