New TV Show: "God Cheaters"

You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn't care? The proverb has it that "he's a fiercely jealous lover." And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you'll find. It's common knowledge that God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble."

So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.

I have been camped out in James for the past few weeks. I've just been reading through it over and over trying to get myself to the point where I can actually recall the major themes. [I really don't like it when I get to the next day and think about what I read yesterday, only to realize that I evidently didn't do a good job of internalizing it!]

The couple of paragraphs above (4:4-10 from the Message) really grabbed me this morning. The imagery of cheating on God is very vivid for me. I know that I myself am a cheater at times...taking time, probably more often than I'd like to admit, to flirt with worldly things like anger, jealousy, being critical of others and myself, complaining, etc etc etc.

Why in the world do I cheat though? Why would I actually step away from (sometimes maybe even run from) the life that I have as a Christ follower? I'm not serious about those other things...I'm not looking for a steady commitment with them. I guess sometimes the lure is too strong, the desire in me to strong while the discipline is too weak...and I give in. Following, much like cheating in romantic relationships, I am left trying to put the pieces of my injured relationship with Jesus back together.

A lot in our spiritual lives, I think, is affected by my/our cheating. I was just thinking through this as I was reading this morning and I began "dreaming" of what the church would look like if we were all 100% committed Christ followers. Imagine! My personal life would be completely transformed, yours as well...and then think about how that would impact the overall community of believers that we are in!! Then, and this is the big one, think about how that would change the world!!!

Maybe one answer is to form some kind of TV show called "God cheaters", go around with video cameras, and catch people on film who are cheating on God. Then we can somehow shame everyone into right behavior...right followship. [You do know there's a reality show called "Cheaters" right?] But maybe even better is for me, for you, to realize what we're walking, or running, away from when we flirt with the world...or worse when we have full-blown affairs with it. That alone should be all the motivation we need to hold tight to our commitment to Jesus.