An hour for God on Sunday

My people come to you…and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice (Ezekiel 33:31).

There was a little boy who got a dollar a week for his allowance. During the Sunday morning children’s sermon, the minister asked the kids how they spent their money. The little boy said, "I give five cents to Sunday School; the rest I spend on gum." When asked why he spent most of his allowance on gum, the boy replied, "we chew gum all week long, but we only have religion on Sunday".

You might smile at the child’s answer, but it reveals a sad truth about many people; for them, religion is what you do on Sunday morning. They treat God like they treat the IRS; every once in a while, you have to spend some time and money to keep the Big Guy happy. The rest of the time you know that they exist, but you don’t give them much thought.

How does such an attitude play itself out in a typical week? On Sunday morning such people thank God for all the good things that He has given them; the rest of the week they rarely make a point of thanking God for anything. On Sunday morning they donate money to God for maintaining the church and sending out missionaries; the rest of the week they don’t think about church or missions, trusting that by their Sunday morning giving they have turned over their responsibility for church maintenance and growth to someone else. On Sunday morning they tell God their needs and their fears, their joys and their sorrows in prayer; the rest of the week,they share what’s important to them with lovers and friends, but not with God. On Sunday mornings they ask Jesus to forgive their sins and they pledge to forgive others in the same way; the rest of the week they do whatever they want with little thought to obeying God’s rules, and they carry grudges against others that cloud their week with anger and resentment.

What good is a low-carb diet if you only follow it on Sundays? Will it improve your health or help you to lose weight? Can you build a family if the only thought or attention you give them is for one hour each week on Sunday morning? How close a relationship could you possibly have with your spouse and children? And yet so many think that one hour a week is all the attention that they need to give to their relationship with God. My friend, if you want Jesus to change your life, you must allow Him to be a part of your life all week long.