Are You Paying Lip Service to God?

The phrase "paying lip service" arises from an insincere expression of loyalty, respect, or support for something or someone. In this connection, it is interesting to note something that Jesus once observed about the religious leaders of that day. In the Gospel of Matthew, we read: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15:8-9, ESV)

Now, Christ drew this expression from a passage in Isaiah. We read there: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men..." (Isaiah 29:13, ESV) In other words, these folks were all about appearances! They appeared to honor and be worshipful of God, but their hearts just weren't really in it.

Do we see any parallels with what we see and experience in our own time? The United States proclaims on its money "In God we trust," but do we really? Many Americans also like to proclaim: "God, family, country" - implying that God is the priority in their lives. Even so, in a 2015 article for RNS titled "Americans don't cite 'God, family, country' quite like the cliche goes" by Cathy Lynn Grossman, we read: "'God, family and country' might make for a good country music tune, but that’s not really how most Americans see the strongest influences on their personal identity. The real order is family first (62 percent), followed by “being an American” (52 percent). 'Religious faith' lolls way down in third place (38 percent) — if it’s mentioned at all, according to a survey released Thursday (March 19) by The Barna Group."

How about you? Are you paying lip service to God?