Be Very Careful
Three of the most prevalent sins in modern Christianity are prayerlessness, sharelessness, and carelessness. We commit “prayerlessness” when we do not obey His command to “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) We commit the sin of “sharelessness” when we...
fail to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).Most often, however, Christians are guilty of “carelessness”
with regards to their relationship with God.
Carelessness means to become negligent; show a lack of consideration; to
not pay attention. Christians at all
ages and stages of spiritual growth can become complacent about the things of
God. Skipping daily devotions, because “I’ve
been so busy.” Skipping church gatherings,
because “my kids have soccer games.”
Skipping prayer time, because “something good was on TV.” Watch out, dear Christian, for the sin of carelessness.
God’s people are commanded over 200 times in the Bible to
“be careful.” Here in chapter 23, as
part of Joshua’s farewell address, he tells the people to “be very careful to
love the LORD your God.” Loving God was not
something that Joshua ever wanted the people to take for granted or be careless
about. He wanted them to give full
consideration and attention to their love for God.
As followers of Christ, we are exhorted in the New
Testament to: “be careful lest the light in you be darkness” (Luke 11:35) and to “be careful to devote yourselves to good works” (Titus 3:8). The
opposite of carelessness is carefulness, or diligence. We must be diligent in our relationship with
God because “he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Not half-heartedly, but diligently. Not carelessly, but intentionally.
The
end result of prolonged carelessness is tragic.
Jesus described it in Revelation 2:4 by saying “that you have left your first love.” So, take a little inventory of your life: If you can go hours or days without having more
than a passing thought of Him; if You don’t have a strong desire to spend time
with Him; If you don’t have a strong
hunger for His Word or Bible reading is a “chore”; if Your worship is formal,
dry, lifeless, merely going through the motions; or if you crave human companionship more than a
relationship with Christ, then be certain that the sin of carelessness
has crept into your life.
How do you fix carelessness? It’s as simple as realizing your sin,
remembering where God wants you to be, and returning to your first love –
Jesus. He is waiting with open arms for
you to diligently seek Him. Be very
careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God.
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