Lips & Life

“It is a sad thing to be Christians at a supper, heathens in our shops, and devils in our closets.”  -Stephen Charnock

We have done a lot of online connecting these past few months. Most of it has been beneficial; some has been annoying. For instance, the sound was fine with one video I was watching, so if I closed my eyes or didn’t see the screen, I had no problem. But the audio and the video were out of sync, causing every word to generate an irritating distraction. What I saw did not agree with what I heard.

Unfortunately, the problem runs deeper than a technological malfunction. The problem is also found in our inconsistent hearts. 

This side of heaven, our words and actions won’t always align. As hard as we try, we won’t continually live out what we believe. Our behavior will not consistently match our best aspirations. But we try.

Jesus saved some of his harshest criticism for those whose “audio” was out of sync with their “video.” He said to one group, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:7-8)

God wants us to live congruent lives – where what we do matches what we say. Honor God with your lips but keep your heart close to God as well. 

Dan Bolin

President

Refueling in Flight Ministries