There is absolutely nothing gained in going to church if all you are going to do is sit, listen and not act on what you hear and experience. God won't give you more until you start using some of what he has already put in you. We, as Christians need to make a concerted effort to walk around this earth actively seeking people who need our help, compassion and generosity. Sadly, far too few Christians do this and the need is great to get to the root of our bad attitude because God can't help us until we do. We must get grounded in God's love: A tree laden with big fruits but that has tiny roots will blow over in the wind. In Luke 15 we witness the elder brother's religious attitude when his brother had humbled himself and come home, pleading to his dad, "Make me". The dad decided to throw a party to celebrate his son's homecoming, but when the elder brother found out he was so resentful and angry. An 'angry Christian' is a bit of an oxymoron really given that the central theme of Christianity is love. We need to show the fruits of our faith, love, kindness and other positive attributes if the Church is to have power in the world. The elder brother refused to enter the party despite his dad begging him. He was jealous because his brother was having a party and he himself and never been given one. His dad pointed out that he could have had a party anytime if he had asked. The elder brother refused to enjoy the party and have fun on such a special occasion as it was wasn't a special occasion to him, he was jealous of his brother and his religious attitude was too great.
People tend to go about life in 1 of 2 different ways:
1. Self-discovery - they do what they want to do, try to 'find themselves' and live their own life
2. Followers - those that abide by rules and regulations keeping a moral, faithful lifestyle
There is nothing wrong with the 2nd option unless you are doing it for the wrong reasons, such as to be noticed, admired or to feel good about yourself. When we do a good deed, we should carry it out then wait in the shadows so that God gets the glory and not us. Religious Pharisees are like this. They do things just to be noticed, they will count exactly how many prayers they had said and how many verses they have read that day, they will forget the good things that you did but remember all the sinful things and hold a grudge against you over them believing that they are better than you. God really doesn't like this attitude. He abhors us not treating someone right who we don't deem to be as important as us because in God's eyes, the lowly are the most important and he will move these lowly people up when he feels ready to. Jesus chose his disciples and they were all lowly characters and look at the amazing things that occurred. Before you can be joyful you need to really learn how to love and before you can be glad for others you also need to really know how to love. When you are glad for others your own joy will begin to multiply. We need to be more like the prodigal son and ask God to make us what he wants us to be.
Ask God to take away any religious attitude that you might have. Be careful about judging and criticising and pray for those who are in sin and out of the fellowship of God.
God is having a party whether you are there or not!
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