“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me<\/em>” (Matthew 15:8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Many people would like to have a little religion in their lives, but not too much. If we’re honest, we may see more of ourselves than is comfortable in Isaiah’s portrayal of the people of his day. The prophet’s rebuke, quoted by Jesus in Matthew 15:8, should prompt an honest self-inventory by all of us who profess to be Christians: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.<\/em>“<\/p>\n
Contrary to how this text is often explained today, the problem pointed to by Isaiah and later by Jesus was not merely that the people were “going through the motions” of worship without really “feeling it” emotionally. I’m sure they didn’t “feel it,” but their problem was not merely one of feelings – it was outright hypocrisy. When they spoke words of worship, there was nothing in their lives to back up those words. They had no real reverence for God, emotionally or otherwise. It was all a sham. Perhaps lacking the courage to go ahead and sever ties with God completely, they wanted to keep up the appearance of having given their allegiance to Him … maybe for a little while longer … if it could be kept safe and convenient … and all they had to do was just nod in God’s direction once in a while. Their religion was nothing more than a package of nice-sounding platitudes that had no bearing on their actual character or conduct. Apparently, they thought God was rather easy to fool.<\/p>\n
A number of years ago, Wilbur E. Rees wrote a little book called $3.00 Worth of God<\/em>. I have quoted below the brief meditation that gave the book its name. I’ve had this book for many years and have read the essay countless times, but it still makes me squirm. In these days when “Christianity” is legal and worship is “trendy,” I wonder whether our lives are shaped by our “nice feelings” any more than the people of Isaiah’s day were shaped by their “nice words.”<\/p>\n
“I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine . . . I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please” (Wilbur E. Rees).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matthew 15:8). Many people would like to have a little religion in their lives, but not too much. If we’re honest, we may see more of ourselves than…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1839],"class_list":["post-94250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-hypocrisy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19060,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-give-his-contribution-to-his-unemployed-mother-instead-of-to-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":0},"title":"Can a person give his contribution to his unemployed mother instead of to the Lord?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 4, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As far as the collection goes, would it be wrong to take the money one would put in the collection plate every Sunday and give it to his unemployed mother, who is living with her daughter, which would be his sister, instead? Answer: What is happening is a person\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55055,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-you-teachable\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":1},"title":"Are You Teachable?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Larry W. Rouse When I first became a Christian I thought that the key to bringing others to obedience to Christ was to have clearly reasoned evidence based on the Word of God. \u00a0I thought \"if others could just hear the truth taught simply and plainly then they too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/Teaching.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11890,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-bible-sufficient\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":2},"title":"Is the Bible Sufficient?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Chamberlain The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said, \"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work\" (II Timothy 3:16-17). In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Old-Bible-233x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37958,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-be-an-episcopalian-and-a-taoist-at-the-same-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":3},"title":"Can I be an Episcopalian and a Taoist at the same time?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am an Episcopalian. I believe in the one true God, the heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, our Savior. I would like to know if I would be able to continue and worship at my church while using the philosophy of Taoism. Answer: I'm a Christian who follows the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-outward-appearance-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":4},"title":"The Outward Appearance of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Jesus \"had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him\" (Isaiah 53:2). Elsewhere, we have discussed the true beauty of Jesus, but here we are going to consider another facet of what the appearance of Jesus implies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29042,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/you-should-be-spreading-the-joys-of-christian-living-rather-than-taking-excerpts-from-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":94250,"position":5},"title":"You should be spreading the joys of Christian living rather than taking excerpts from the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Your web site is filled with messages of hate and judgment. Your ministry should focus on love and spreading the joys of Christian living rather than taking excerpts from the translated Bible as a rule book for life. 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