I started a daily devotional to kick off the new year like many of you have I am sure. It’s on the You Version app and it’s called the 5x5x5 plan by Discipleship Journal. The goal is to read the New Testament in one year. I always love the idea of reading plans and daily devotionals, but to be honest, I suck at them. I usually get one week in and forget to read a few days or you know, life happens and I just don’t get around to it. I probably need to work on this discipline and maybe try waking up every morning at 5:30 to get a solid two hours of reading, praying, and writing in but come one…it isn’t that simple.
Daily devotions and reading plans are very appealing to a type A personality like me. I LOVE making to-do lists and then completing those tasks one neat item at a time. It is VERY satisfying. So satisfying that I catch myself cringing when I skip a few days and see empty boxes that need to be checked off. Instead of being excited to hang out with Jesus, I get excited about getting my to-do list accomplished.
So let’s talk about that for a second.
In Mark 7 Jesus is challenged by the religious authority (probably type A personalities, lol). They accuse his disciples of not following tradition, specifically the strict standards of ceremonial washing before a meal practiced for centuries by Jews. As usual Jesus responds without hesitation by firing back a verse from the Old Testament,
“This people honors me with their lips,
But their heart is far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Isaiah 29:13)
Jesus then goes on to explain his reason for quoting this verse. He proclaims that what defiles a person is not that he doesn’t follow the tradition to wash (a physical problem), but a person is defiled based on what comes out of the heart (a spiritual problem). “You’re obsessed with external physical problems, while God cares more about the state of your soul!” Jesus might have said in 21st century language.
But we’ve heard this teaching a thousand times. You don’t need a church background to have heard this debate before. Consider these examples, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” An external thing abused by an internal problem. Guns are not the issue, it’s how the person uses it. One side will lash out and say “but without guns then violence would decrease by a hundred fold.” Of course the problem with that line of thinking is that 1) it ignores history and the fact that people have been killing themselves LONG before guns existed and 2) just because you restrict guns, doesn’t rule out the possibility that a person still has psychological or emotional issues that might cause him to murder anyways. The problem is deeper than the weapon he’s using, it’s the state of his heart that causes him to use that gun for murder. I would guess that no one would disagree with that at some level.
I think Jesus would say it’s not necessarily an issue of what is put in the mind or body, but the response to it. If a person spends more time playing violent video games than helping other people or watching more positive things, then yes he’s at a higher risk of being violent. But doesn’t that just put a band aid on the issue and blame the environment or the culture around that teen for his violent behavior? Yes, a more positive environment might CURB his behavior, but it won’t CURE his soul.
My point is, we have a knack for defaulting to this lazy thinking all of the time. It’s a way for us to check a box on a list and say, “Well, I did what I was supposed to do so if something bad happens then it’s not my fault. I prayed this morning. I read my devotional. I gave a homeless guy my sandwich so God should honor my accomplishments.” Eh, not so much. Jesus’ boisterous response flat out negates that way of thinking. Because we have the ability to lie with our mouth and our actions, the true test of our faithfulness and holiness is our heart. Even in our fallen and rebellious nature against God, our hearts do not lie. Our hearts are always telling the truth of who we REALLY are (Notice I did not say that our hearts are always telling the TRUTH…I said the truth about who we really are as people).
Jesus calls us to focus more on how we RESPOND to our daily bible reading than how often we do it. He wants us to practice relating to God through the very real presence of the Holy Spirit when we pray then simply remembering to pray at all. I might go days without praying or reading my bible (and, yes, I should probably fix that) but just because I missed a few days doesn’t mean I’m failing as a Christian (that’s a WHOLE other blog post I should write someday). Jesus’ desire is our response to his presence in our life. His joy is made complete when we obey him by loving God and loving others…not because of our checklists. (John 15:9-17; Psalm 51:15-17)
Should I pray more, yes. Should you read and study your bible more, probably. But more importantly, we should all apply Jesus’ corrective response, “these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” How you respond in your daily life to a terrible boss, nagging kids, bad traffic, that is what Jesus cares about the most. If you checked off every box on your daily Christian to-do list this morning, but spent the rest of the day lashing out at others and putting them beneath you…are you really following Jesus like you think you are?
Emergence of the Soul 
Matt, this is absolutely correct. I used to read Daily devotions. They do have a place for new christians as a tool to develope reading habit and early faith, but what also comes is the “must check this box” thinking. Have you ever heard of someone saying ” drat, i missed my memory verse exercise this morning ? ” I fell into the trap where i felt content and righteous after ticking the boxes, including devotion time. …..then children came. What has come out of my heart and mouth i have repented of and is a continual battle. A devotional text will regurgitate war between flesh and spirit scriptures, with some fabulous examples of the struggles of faithful saints. But actually waring with intimate ” things that i should not do, i do” is an unavoidable fight that God promises every christian hungering and thirsting for righteousness.
Does this sound like a devotion??
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Thanks for the thoughts Russell! This discussion for me is rooted in my childhood, which I don’t talk about a lot in the post. I grew up in church and so studying and memorizing the bible was a part of my weekly life as a child of church-going parents. What began as a GREAT learning tool for me as a child growing up in a Christian home, morphed into a spiritual struggle in college when I struggled with my faith and place in the world (typical right?). This is the same scenario in the Gospels with Jesus. Young boys (and girls to some extent to) would memorize and study the scriptures most of their childhood so that they could then “graduate” and be ready to live that out in whatever profession they landed in (usually the family trade). Of course they continued to learn along the way but you get the idea. So the struggle for many today is the same as 2,000 years ago…”Do I continue these ‘childlike’ methods of learning or am I supposed to graduate into a more ‘mature’ approach?” I think Jesus would say “yes” to both. The desire to tick off the box for me is an issue of maturity I need to rid myself of from my childhood and understand that without scripture, I cannot expect to have a mature and growing relationship with Christ and others. I would agree that no matter what keeps us from daily communion with Christ, we need to strive to keep that ‘hungering and thirsting for righteousness’ alive and well. Devotions are a good place to start!
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