There are a lot of things we do as Christians that aren’t actually helping us grow in our faith, at least not at the level they could.
We were taught that we should do these things. In fact, we call them spiritual disciplines and devotions. They are practices of the faith.
The problem is we aren’t doing them correctly. We do them, but not in the best way. Our practice may hurt us by developing bad habits which we mistakenly think are signs of faithfulness.
Here are three mistakes we can make and how to fix them:
1. Going to church, but not being the church.
We go to church every Sunday thinking that we are faithful Christians. A better approach is to go to church every Sunday and then practice what you learned at church during the week. For example: share what you learned from the sermon with a co-worker.
2. Reading the Scriptures, but not living the Scriptures.
We read our Bible every day thinking it is a sign of how devoted we are to Jesus. A better approach is to conduct your daily Bible reading and then practice what you learned the same day. For example: You read about feeding the hungry. Bypass your own lunch and give what you would have spent on lunch to a food bank.
3. Praying to God, but not listening to God.
We pray daily, thinking we are doing our Christian duty. However, our prayers are more like a one-way conversation than communing with God. We really have no interest, nor expect, God to speak to us in return. A better approach is to allow time to hear God speak to you. If you are going to ask God for something, at least give him the opportunity to respond. Hey, God may want to say thank you for your gratitude to him. At least give God that.
The disciplines of the faith aren’t checklist to faithfulness. They help you grow in your faith. Whatever spiritual practices you are following, make sure they are producing fruit in your life. Don’t be in such a rush to do them that what you are doing can’t do what it was designed to do.
