“…they come pretending to be sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them. They express love with their mouths, but their hearts seek only after money” (Ezekiel 33:31, NLT).
Who said this and to whom? The Lord spoke these words to His prophet Ezekiel, preceding them with: “As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord’” (Ezekiel 33:30, NIV)
The people of Israel liked to listen to Ezekiel, “but they [had] no intention of [obeying] what [the Lord told] them” through this prophet. Which is why He went on to say to Ezekiel:
“You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don't do it!” (Ezekiel 33:32, NLT).
Christians today don’t behave a whole lot differently than the people of Israel did back in Ezekiel’s time. We like a good sermon, as long as it doesn’t step on our toes. Many of us go to church for all the wrong reasons. We go because that’s what we grew up doing on Sunday. We go because we want to set the right example for our children. We go because there are a lot of people who do business with us since they know us from church. Only a minority of believers go for the specific purpose of praising the Lord and learning more about Him.
“They express love with their mouths.” It’s easy to get all warm and fuzzy in the midst of a great worship service; but what about when we get home? Or to work? Or we’re on our way to work? How easy is it to “express love” then?
“But their hearts seek only after money.” Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34, NIV). If there’s a disconnect between your wallet and your church, you need to ask the Lord to examine “your heart” and show you what it is you’re seeking after.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting nice things; nothing wrong with having nice things – provided you’re not piling on debt to have them, and providing you’re not robbing God to have them (see Malachi 3:8). Jesus loves to see His children blessed and He loves to be their Blesser! But He also wants you to “seek [Him] first” (Matthew 6:33, KJV), which is precisely what positions you for His blessings.
“What comes first, the compass or the clock? Before one can truly manage time (the clock), it is important to know where you are going, what your priorities and goals are, in which direction you are headed (the compass). Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what's urgent, learn to focus on what is really important.” (I’m not certain, but I think this is from the book FIRST THINGS FIRST by Stephen Covey, Roger Merrill and Rebecca Merrill)
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