By Jarrid Wilson
Here is some stuff Christians should stop doing.
1. Telling people “I’ll pray for you” without
actually praying for them.
Guilty as charged. I can’t think of anybody who hasn’t done
this at one time or another. And while most of us don’t actually mean to
forget, it’s probably best that we just set aside time on the spot to pray for
people. Are we really so busy that we can’t stop and pray for someone’s needs?
We need to make sure we are fulfilling our duties as Christians and actually
follow through with them. One prayer could be the tipping point to someone
coming to know the love of God. Don’t miss the opportunity to speak life into
someone because you don’t think you have time.
2. Attending Church on Sunday, but ignoring God’s
voice the rest of the week.
Ouch! This one stings a little. Many of us get in the habit of
making God just another addition to our weekly check-list, but the reality is
that our entire lives should revolve around him. God deserves #1 priority in
each of our lives, and to treat him any differently would go against the
foundations of the Christian faith. Evaluate the way you are spending your
time, money and energy. If you want to see a change in your life then you need
to begin giving God the place of honor he deserves. Stop treating God like the
last kid picked in doge-ball.
3. Praying for God’s provision when we have yet to
use what he has already provided.
Way too many of us tend to treat God like a personal genie.
Prayer was given to us as an open line of communication between us and God, but
the harsh reality is that way too many of try to use it like a drive-thru at a
fast-food restaurant. You don’t get to pick and choose the way God
provides, but you do get the opportunity to trust his plan and have faith in
his promises. I can’t begin to explain how many times I’ve ignored God’s
provision because it wasn’t wrapped the way I intended it to be. Every time we
purposely ignore God’s provision, we are indirectly telling him, “I
don’t trust your plan.”
4. Trying to be so relevant that we actually hurt
the message of Jesus.
There is nothing wrong with trying to be relevant, but we need
to understand that there is a BOLD line between being trendy,
and then completely disfiguring the message of Jesus. We can’t expect to bring
any change to the world when we don’t look any different from it. I’m a firm
believer that Jesus came to reclaim culture and not abolish it, but this
doesn’t mean we need to water down His message so that it’s easier to swallow.
5. Telling people that “God will never give
you anything you can’t handle.”
Why should we stop saying this? Because it’s a lie. … We’ve
completely twisted 1 Corinthians 10:13, as this
verse is pointing toward temptation, and even then it states God will be there
if things get too tough. The reality is that God just might give us things we
can’t handle so that we will gaze toward him for the extra help. Mind blowing
right? Realize that not everything is going to go the way you plan, think or
hope. Sometimes stuff is going to hit the fan, and in order for you to get
through it, you are going to NEED to rely on God’s comfort, peace and
understanding. We weren’t meant to do life alone.
Jarrid Wilson is a husband, pastor and author
relentlessly sharing the love of Jesus.
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