Parrot It Back!

And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
    with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.”

Isaiah 29:13-14 

 

I'm rather unorthodox, in case you haven't figured that out by now.  And I also am guilty of having pet peeves (shocking, I realize).  One of the practices that absolutely drives me up the wall is when I hear people mechanically parrot back verses or prayers they have learned with the monotonous deadpan delivery of a dying robot.  

 

I hear people read or recite the Lord's Prayer with all the enthusiasm of rock, and I wonder if these same people have actually read (and understand) what they are parroting back or are they just saying words they have memorized.  

 

Let me ask you something, if you spoke to your friends with the same monotonous tone that your recite scripture, would they still be your friends?  Scripture is full of LIFE and Passion!  

 

On the other side of this coin are the people who claim to be believers, but the choose to act like anything but.  Take tithing, for example, according to the Law we are to give the first part of what we receive.  Yet we have people who will calculate to the exact cent how much tithe to give (if they give at all).  Giving should be with a cheerful heart, not because we just HAVE to give.  Let's put it this way, we HAVE to pay taxes, we should WANT to give our offerings.

 

When you stand before God, will you be welcomed because you followed the rules or because you lived life as God intended...with passion!  Is church dull and boring for you, think about why?