Habitual or Intentional?

There are so many things that we consider to be a "bad habit." Biting our nails, saying a word too much, cracking our knuckles, taking on too much responsibility, spending too much money, texting while talking to someone, and the list could go on and on. Some might categorize an action as a "bad habit" while others might see nothing wrong with it. Bad habits are easy to form and hard to break. They are things that we do without even realizing we are doing them. We don't think about doing it, we just do it. Our mind kicks into autopilot.
Some bad habits are innocent things that we do that don't really affect us negatively. Other things can be very detrimental to us and require help from others to break. Smoking, lying, swearing, gossiping, drinking, and again, the list could go on and on. But what if I put on this list religion? Would you look at me questioningly? Would you wonder where I am going with this?
I hope you would, I hope you are.
I have no idea how many people, if any, read my blog or will read this specific post, but I am beginning to write about something that I think is a very real issue in our society. It is one that has become a very bad habit for some and is detrimental to not only them but everyone around them. It's easy to fall into and extremely difficult to get out of. It sneaks up on you and before you can even do anything about it, you're trapped.
I'm talking about complacency. Not just complacency in life, but complacency with our relationship with the one person who is more important than any other- Jesus Christ.
Now, bear with me. I hope that if you have read this far, you will keep reading just to see my point.
I am not here to bash on people or things they do. I am here to share what my eyes have been opened to. I have realized that we, as Christians (those who profess to have a relationship with the God of this Universe), are very content with where we are at. We go to church (some for as long as we can remember), we sing in worship on Sundays, sit in the pew and listen very intently, we may even shed a tear or two and feel very moved during the worship or sermon, we might volunteer with different ministries like nursery or helping with the teens or setting up the welcome center Sunday mornings, and then we go home and live our life- unchanged by what we heard.
UNCHANGED.
So many of us are just living out a life of habit. We go through the motions of what a "Christian life" should look like, and we feel perfectly fine with it. In fact, we don't even realize that we are doing it. I have lived in New York and am now in North Carolina, and I see this habitual living more down here than back north. Just about everyone down here goes to church on Sunday. I would be willing to go out on a limb and say that 95% of households have a Bible in the house somewhere, and most likely 85% of those households have a cross or picture of Jesus on a wall or shelf. Now, please don't mistaken me by what I mean; there is nothing wrong with possessing any of those things. My point is that while those households have those things, the reality is that these people most likely don't have a real meaningful relationship with the author of that book. Their relationship is strictly habitual. They go through the motions that their parents had them go through, and the sad thing is that this will pass down from generation to generation.
When will their eyes be open to the actual message they are receiving every week while sitting in that pew? When will their eyes be open to the wonder that is Jesus Christ- the Creator of the Universe- the one who creates thunder and causes the stars to shine? When will they realize just who exactly this "Jesus" is that they here about?
It's scary to think that there are so many who think they have it but really don't. Jesus said himself that not everyone who claim to know him will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 7:20-23 is Jesus speaking to his followers letting them know that "not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord.' will enter the kingdom of heaven." He goes on to say that only those who do the will of his Father who is in heaven will enter in. He warns us of false prophets and those who claim to be his follower but don't live accordingly. By our fruits (actions, words) will we be recognized. Those who follow Christ and have an actual relationship with him will be living out the words that are written in his Book. All others (those living out the motions-habits) will come to 'that day' (judgement day) and say that they were believers, but will be turned away for it was never real.
Reading this passage this past Sunday opened my eyes. I too easily am completely content with sitting in the chair on Sundays listening to the message and then live out my normal routine the rest of the week. I don't like it when I am driving down the road, and my heart is pricked by the sight of the homeless woman on the corner. My heart and mind are in constant turmoil while sitting at the light with the woman on my left. I tell myself to just focus on the car in front of me and to not worry about it. How selfish am I? Did Jesus just walk on by? NO! He stopped, he cared, he had compassion on those. He made eye contact with them, he spoke with them. He loved them. He did not hesitate over what to do because he knew what his Father-my Heavenly Father- would want him to do. That person is made in the same image of God that I was made in. They were fashioned by the same hands that formed me in the womb. They will stand before the God of the Universe on Judgment Day just like I will and be held accountable for their words and actions just like I will be.
It's not just the homeless people either. Does my heart break when I learn of someone who is spiritually lost? Am I willing to sacrifice my time to listen to someone who is hurting? Am I willing to share with someone just how amazing and wonderful and loving and forgiving my God is? Am I willing to sacrifice my pride to serve Christ?
The Father's will doesn't mean serving overseas in missions. It does not mean making radical life changes (although there is nothing wrong with that). It means being willing to do whatever it takes to be selfless and point any glory and praise back to Him. It means listening to that little voice prodding you to give up money or food or clothes or time to someone in need of it. It means being willing to make a fool of yourself for the sake of bettering someone else. It means being willing to endure hardship and pain in this life. It means making decisions that cause such great heartache that you can't sleep at night because you know it's the right thing to do and it's making your Heavenly Father look down and say I'm proud of you. It means going against society and standing up for morals and things that have slipped through the cracks over the years.
Habits aren't easy to break. It takes time and dedication and accountability. It takes determination to get to the end goal despite all the rough terrain along the journey.
It's a choice though. We can sit in that church each Sunday listening to what the pastor says and then forgetting it the rest of the week, or we can sit in that pew listening to what he says and then living it out each day of our lives-striving to perfect it.
Habitual Complacency or Intentional Living?

Matthew 7:15-23

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform may miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew your. Away from me, you evildoers!"

Am I just living the motions out? Is my life changing because of what I know to be true? Am I allowing my knowledge of what is true to change my heart and life?

Crashing is the Best Part

Crash and burn.
Sounds painful. No one likes to take a risk only to fail. No one likes to jump out of the plane with only a 10% chance of having a parachute attached to them. People want to have a higher percentage than that. I can say without a doubt that the idea of crashing and burning has no appeal to me.
And yet, I do it. A lot!
I take my own ideas and run with them. I run with them so far that I can't tell which way is back. I run so quickly that I stumble and run over things, sometimes even people. I run so hard and so blindly that I drop pieces of myself while fleeing. I run because I think I can find a place that is safe, free of pain.
Call me crazy, but I think there is a recurring theme here. I.
For someone who doesn't enjoy the crash landing, I sure do know how to set myself up for it.
I am not the most graceful person, either, so things just seem to get more messy. The farther I go and the harder I run, the longer I have to fall and the harder the landing. I am so thankful that I have a God who is not interested in perfect people. I am so thankful that I do not serve a God who is sold on using the ones who seem to have it all together.
My God chooses to use the stubborn, the hard headed, the prideful, the shamed, the outcasts, the angry, and the list goes on. He chooses to use those deemed by others as tainted or unworthy, because they can bring him so much glory. His name is praised as they turn from their ways and follow him. His name is praised when they reach out to others and share their story. His name is praised when others are touched by the things He has done for them.
I run, and I run rather recklessly. This is not the first time that I have realized this truth, nor is it the last (of this I'm sure). But, I do pray that this is the last time that I allow myself to believe that I can run farther than God can see or faster than He can follow. My heart belongs to him, and He is not the kind of god to sit on the side lines and watch as his children frolic about making messes. Will He allow it for a while? Yes, but there will come a time when He will start calling their names and beckoning them to come back to him.
Our hearts long to feel safe and loved. They long to feel secure and protected. And, they have just that, provided we allow ourselves to abide in the presence of the One who keeps them beating. But, when we allow ourselves to believe that we can find a better place that will provide more security and more comfort, we remove ourselves from the only place our hearts long to be, and we allow our mind to convince our heart that it doesn't really feel secure there. So, we run.
We, I, must stop trying to do things on my own. Nothing will work out that way. The ending will always be the same- pain, frustration, shame, and guilt. Pain because we end up doing and saying things that hurt ourselves and others. Frustration because we don't understand why we allowed ourselves to run again. Shame because we know that we knew running was wrong in the first place. And, guilt because we ran anyway.
One thing leads to another, and the vicious cycle continues.
But...
There is yet another recurring theme throughout all of this. God doesn't change. He doesn't view us differently. He looks at us the same way he looked at us from the beginning of time. He sees us as his perfect work that he has a plan for. He sees us and knows the plan that he has for each of us. He knows how all this running will be used to bring him glory. It is by his grace that we are able to come back home- the only place our hearts desire to be. It is by his grace that we are able to stand back up after such a devastating crash and burn and begin again.
He allows second chances...even second and third and fourth ones.
How amazing and comforting that is to know?
It's even more amazing and comforting to believe it!!

Lost Faith

I think about all the kids that I have ever taken care of, and one thing shows to be true in all of them. They trust. They believe with an innocence about them that the people in their lives are not going to hurt them. They do not fear or build up walls to separate their hearts from receiving the blows that will come to scar.

No, they actually do the exact opposite. They trust, whole-heartedly, without waiver. They follow blindly the ones that love them.
I wonder, at what point do we begin to lose faith in others? At what point in time do we fear pain? When do we see new relationships as potential heart breaks instead of new beginnings and adventures? When do we learn how to put brick upon brick to barricade our hearts from ever feeling that deep sting of heart ache? At what point in time do we begin to see the people in our lives as the potential bad guys? 

Over time, little rejections from people we classify as our loved ones can slowly began to scratch at the surface, taking pieces of us with them each time. Being open and vulnerable with others turns into a struggle.
Friendships suffer and a level of fear builds and begins to keep people out.
Is it possible to get that innocent faith again?
I like to think that it is. I like to think that life doesn't have to be full of pain. But, then again, we do live in a world that is tainted and stained by hatred and selfishness, and the list goes on.
The bottom line is we cannot control what other people do or say; we can, however, control what comes out of our mouth and the actions we take.