Could this be said about you?

George Whitefield, the famous evangelist of the “Great Awakening” days, lived a devout life.

Could that be said about you?

I’m currently reviewing a book that includes some of the story of Whitefield’s life. Before coming into a covenant relationship with Christ, Whitefield used to enjoy the theater and playing cards. After his conversion, he thought these were things he needed to rid himself of. So devoutly did Whitefield pursue his followership of Christ that he even feared the idea of having passion for his wife. Whitefield wanted to make sure that his life, in every way, was wholly devoted to God. He was known to preach to huge crowds twice a day, and he filled his off time studying the Bible, praying, and singing praises to God.

I bet I know what most of you are honestly thinking: “Wow! What a really boring life!”

As I examined this story of Whitefield’s life, I couldn’t help but contrast it with how Christians live today. One of the greatest struggles pastors across America face is trying to coax their congregants to spend at least a few minutes in the Bible some time in the week, and to pray.

If we’re honest, we think that making a little space for some kind of “devotion” of time spent reading a Bible verse and some prayer laying out our requests of wants before God is truly a sacrifice on our behalf. We have an attitude that any time not devoted to our employment is our time to complete what chores we must but then load with recreation and the kind of enjoyments that make us happy.

The very idea of filling our “spare time” with singing hymns or praises to God, extended time in prayer, and digging deeply into the Bible on a daily basis is considered even by Christians to be a little “weird.”

But the truth of the matter is we pursue, invest in, and desire what is of most importance to us. If Jesus Christ is most important to us, that reality should be reflected in how we live.

Yes, we can honor God anywhere and be a “light” and “the salt of the earth” while out doing what we find enjoyable, but maybe we need to ask ourselves why we don’t immediately think acts of devotion, such as times of personal worship and praise to God, aren’t deeply enjoyable.

The young man smitten with love for a young lady longs to spend every moment with her. If we’re “smitten” with love for Jesus Christ, why do we not long to spend time with him?

Martin Dale tells the story about how Savonarola, the Italian political reformer (1452-1498), at the very start of his ministry in Florence noticed an elderly woman who used to come and pray regularly before a statue of the Virgin Mary.

One day, Savonarola took an elderly priest aside , who had been serving in the cathedral for many years, and commented, “Look how devoted this woman is. She comes every day to offer prayers to the blessed Mother of Jesus. What a marvelous act of faith!”

But the elderly priest replied, “Do not be deceived by what you see. Many years ago when the sculptor needed a model to pose for this statue of the blessed Mother, he hired a beautiful young woman to sit for him. This devout worshiper you see here every day is that young woman. She is worshiping who she used to be.”

When our lives are lived largely filling our time with pleasures, comforts, and enjoyments, and a devout life is viewed as being a little “weird,” who are we really worshiping?

Who is most important?

Who do we really love most?

If the idea of having in your own home a family worship time where you all sing praises to God and the story of God is shared is thought to be odd and something only religious freaks do, how, then, could we ever say we live devout lives? If our truest desires are to fill our lives with the comforts and enjoyments of this world more than to fill our lives with God, we have a very real spiritual problem.

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever,” 1 John 2:15-17.

“Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them,” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.

“Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them,” Ephesians 5:10-11.

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 5:15-20.

What would it take to change your life from what it is now, to making it one where someone would say, “[Your name] lives a devout Christian life”?

Scotty