"Just Noise"

"...for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Matthew 6:7b

As you know, I go to the nursing home twice a month and conduct a church service. We meet in the dining room. There is a door in the dining room that leads to an outside patio. At the top of the door is some sort of electronic fan/filter. It is suppose to turn on every time the door opens and "suck" the flies and bugs out that come in. Each time it comes on, it makes a very loud noise and does not stop until the door closes. The problem with it is, the door does not fit tightly so the slightest suction on the door and it turns on. Someone has to finally walk over there and pull the door completely shut. Also, it doesn't work very well in doing what it was designed to do.

The reason I said all that is because this door reminds me of some Christians-- they make a lot of noise but don't function the way God intends for them to. You know who they are-- they say they are Christians, but act like the devil. They are always trying to tell you how to live, but never live it themselves. They are like the Pharisees. The Pharisees always had something to say-- there was no shortage of words with them, but their actions spoke contrary. They preached it but they didn't practice it. They talked it but they didn't walk it.

Am I describing you this morning? Do you "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk"? Are you a Christian in profession only? Does your lifestyle testify to what you say you are. Do your actions line up with your words? If not, then you need to repent and ask God to make you into a person that lives what you say.

Personally, I think they should unplug, or remove altogether, this device at the nursing home because it doesn't do any good. It's just irritating, annoying and distracting. Christians who are like this bear these same characteristics-- annoying, irritating, distracting from the true nature of who God is, and cause the message of the gospel to be hindered. We don't want to be like that.

Have a great day. Are you functioning the way a Christian should or are you just a lot of noise?