It is proper that we not let the vices beguile us in the guise of the virtues.

  - Colman mac Beognai, Aipgitir Chrabaid (Irish, 7th century)

...even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

  - 2 Corinthians 11.14

As believers we can be very foolish sometimes.

We can actually adopt outlooks, attitudes, and practices that are patently sinful, but which we manage somehow to justify. And we can neglect things that are clearly important to vital spiritual life and Kingdom progress, and think ourselves doing just what we should.

Like the young Christian leader who admitted to me not long ago that he didn't have a regular Bible-reading time because he considered such regimentation to be a form of legalism.

Or the believer who excuses herself from preparing to bear witness to a colleague at work because she doesn't want to be pushy.

Or the parents who are so busy chasing their children around to every chic kids' activity that they're too tired for any involvement in their local church.

Or the believer who has learned to be content with just a few minutes of prayer each day - Paul's "pray without ceasing" and "pray about everything" notwithstanding.

We have many ways of making our bad behavior look good - good enough, at least, to us. But we'll never make progress in the life of faith by living this way. Christian faith is a call to hear the Word of the Lord, admit our shortcomings and needs, and wait on the Lord for repentance and renewal. Our goal is to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves.

But if we keep holding onto sinful practices in the name of "this works for me" or "this is what I need", we'll never know the fullness of joy, the beauty of righteousness, and the peace that passes understanding which the Lord holds out to us every day.

We need to get serious about following Jesus and to stop making excuses for continuing to do - or not do - the very things He tells us can change our lives.

Is your Christian life real? I mean, really real? Do you regularly engage Christ in His glory, so that the weight of His eternal presence fairly crushes you with fear and joy, and you go forth rejoicing and ready to serve Him in whatever He asks? Is He increasing in you as your old self decreases?

Or are you taking your cues concerning what it means to be a Christian from some "other" source of "light"? Francis Schaeffer once wrote that the reason why the Christian faith is just not real to a lot of believers is "that while we say we believe one thing, we allow the spirit of the naturalism of the age to creep into our thinking, unrecognized."

We must learn to recognize the spirit of the age, the father of lies, no matter how alluring or appealing his disguise.

And we need to send him packing. Otherwise, our Christian faith will never be anything more than a formality.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.