Routine VS Relationship - How Hard Is It For You?

[Ruba]

The real reason why we Christians go to church, read our bibles, pray, give thanks, and be involved with much fellowship is to deepen our relationship with the Lord. However lately, these routines or practices are becoming more idolized to people than using these as tools to improve their relationship with Jesus Christ.

I know I had done this many times to where I was like: "I will talk to you God once I get done reading this chapter in the Bible." and most of the time I catch myself while reading the Bible asking myself: "What is the point of reading this if I am prioritizing this over God?" and I feel guilty and apologize to Him.

I am very sure that many people fall into this trap, and a lot are suffering for it. I just know that anything can be idolized and I've seen the practices of Christianity getting idolized more than God everywhere. Talk about flipping the life boat.

Do you slip into routine over God sometimes?
Does it affect your life big time when it happens?
Are you dealing with this struggle right now?
What are your methods/advice to avoid slipping into it?

Please share your thoughts!

 

[jbearnolimits]

I know I had done this many times to where I was like: "I will talk to you God once I get done reading this chapter in the Bible." and most of the time I catch myself while reading the Bible asking myself: "What is the point of reading this if I am prioritizing this over God?" and I feel guilty and apologize to Him.

You may want to reword this. It sounds like you are saying reading the Bible is not the same as spending time with God (who is the word). I am sure that isn't what you mean, I just thought I would let you know how it sounded.

Anyway, you are right that sometimes we forget that we should be getting a relationship out of these things and it is not a chore to do. I remember someone telling me they "read the Bible 6 hours a day"...but they never learned the lesson on pride. Are we trying to get reading the Bible over with and so we think we have to read a chapter a day? It is better to read one verse and ponder it in your heart through the day.

 

[Emerlander]

I think it's a problem that affects most people. I know I've had this problem. But not too often cause even getting a religious routine up and running itself is hard for me! *Blushes* But in the periods when I did read the Bible first thing in the morning or pray first thing, it did become a bit of a ritual. Sometimes it has helped me when I asked myself, "Right. So why am I gonna pray/read the Bible now? Is it because I 'just have to' or because I want to talk to God and know more about Him?" That puts me in the right frame of mind. But I don't see how one can ask the question every time without forgetting. I, for one, do forget.

 

[Ruba]

You may want to reword this. It sounds like you are saying reading the Bible is not the same as spending time with God (who is the word). I am sure that isn't what you mean, I just thought I would let you know how it sounded.

Anyway, you are right that sometimes we forget that we should be getting a relationship out of these things and it is not a chore to do. I remember someone telling me they "read the Bible 6 hours a day"...but they never learned the lesson on pride. Are we trying to get reading the Bible over with and so we think we have to read a chapter a day? It is better to read one verse and ponder it in your heart through the day.

Nope, I am not saying that at all! What I meant is don't read the Bible to just fulfill the daily routine. Read like you want to know God. The reasoning behind it is what counts, not how many times you do it. That is what I meant. I am sorry about the bad wording.

6 hours a day? Oh man I would forget 5 and half hours of reading when I am done. You can only do so much in a day. I hope they learned quite quickly on that one. But some people prefer a chapter than a verse. It really depends as long as your heart is right when reading it.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Ruba]

I think it's a problem that affects most people. I know I've had this problem. But not too often cause even getting a religious routine up and running itself is hard for me! *Blushes* But in the periods when I did read the Bible first thing in the morning or pray first thing, it did become a bit of a ritual. Sometimes it has helped me when I asked myself, "Right. So why am I gonna pray/read the Bible now? Is it because I 'just have to' or because I want to talk to God and know more about Him?" That puts me in the right frame of mind. But I don't see how one can ask the question every time without forgetting. I, for one, do forget.

I am pretty much in the same boat with you. I have periods of trying to get into a routine, and then the routine falters on me. Yeah, its not easy to remember to ask yourself, however you could leave a note in your bible or where you read it asking the question. I don't know if that will help.

 

[Emerlander]

I am pretty much in the same boat with you. I have periods of trying to get into a routine, and then the routine falters on me. Yeah, its not easy to remember to ask yourself, however you could leave a note in your bible or where you read it asking the question. I don't know if that will help.

I've tried similar things. What happens is that you start simply ignoring it after a while. Haha. I think one thing we all can and should do is ask God for help in correcting and keeping the attitude correct. And keep trying and searching without giving up. He will guide us on way or the other. That's what I feel.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Ruba. We know that God wants us to follow His Commandments, also in
Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tell us: The first and great Commandment is:
Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second
is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself." Jesus also tells us: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Very important to God
is Love and God wants our love, freely given and NO conditions tagged on.
How do we follow? We treat all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends, we treat them as we would love to be treated: kindly and always with friendly words. God sees our loving efforts, and God will Bless us. God will also know that we Love God, because we follow God`s Commandments to love. We keep doing this, and if we forget at times, we ask God to forgive us,
and carry on loving and caring. Matthew 7: 7-10: tells us:
" ask and ye shall receive," and we carry on asking for Love and Joy, then sharing all Love and Joy with our neighbour. This seems a bit hard to begin with, but we will soon find that Love changes us into the sons and daughters
which God wants us to become; Love is very catching, and we will find that people will treat us as we treat people. God Loves us, and God wants our relationship with God our Heavenly Father, and with our neighbour.
The Bible tells us: " Repent," and also: " Be Born Again." We have to give up our selfish wishes and desires, and become Loving and Caring We also have
Jesus our Saviour to help and guide us: JESUS IS THE WAY. We know that the Bible is God`s Word to us, and we always have to find time to study it.
I say this with love, Ruba. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[placebo99]

This is a slippery but necessary question. Slippery because it's often hard to tell what comes first, i.e. does your relationship with God lead you into a routine where you read the Bible, pray regularly, attend church services etc. OR does the routine that you earnestly try and create supplant your relationship with God? It is definitely hard to tell the difference at times.

Personally I think routines can be useful but we must always make sure we are doing them for the right reasons. If we read the Bible daily, for example, it is important that we do it because we want to deepen our relationship with God and knowledge of him, rather than just because that is the task we have set ourselves to do. I think God loves it when we earnestly try to seek him and if routines help you to do it that's great, but if they don't appeal to you, you can still communicate with him just as effectively.

Just my thoughts =) the fact that you are considering these things probably means you are on the right track.