Today's Devotional

May 27, 2005

Subject:  More Than Lip Service

Mark 7:6 - "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."

I was in the gym the other day working out and I see this often so this was another occasion where I noticed an older, quite portly gentleman giving advice to a young lady on how to lift the weights and everything.  He definitely could have used a little advice of his own.  A couple of days later in the gym, a fellow came over to me and jokingly asked how he could get super bicep muscles.  He was somewhat amazed because for the next few minutes I talked in detail about the proper way to do the exercise for maximum benefit.  In his amazement he said, "gee thanks" and walked away.

I think that there is an important foundational truth here which is that our lives are an example of what we believe.  We can say a lot of things and we can talk a lot of theory and rhetoric, but at the end of the day, if the advice and counsel that we give others has not been applied in our lives, then our words ring hollow.  

The older man giving the young lady advice struck everyone as odd.  Why?  Because you wouldn't ask someone who was obese how to lose weight.  You could, but you probably wouldn't put much stock in his words.  No, you want someone who has done it and looks as though they have benefited from doing it.  You don't just want lip service.

This is what God wants from us too.  He doesn't want prayers that sound good.  He wants prayers that are from the heart.  He doesn't want service that looks good.  He wants service that is driven by a desire to serve Him.  

Today lets look at ourselves and see if the counsel or advice that we're giving has been properly applied in our own lives.  If it has been then we're giving them more than lip service.  We're giving them an example.  That's what Christ did for us and it's what we should do for others.    

Carlen