As a young adult who grew up in the middle of the digital boom, I often feel the weight or pressure of appearing like I’m present and not like I care more about what’s on the screen in front of me than what’s beyond it.
I’m sure this is a common situation a lot of us deal with. While this issue has a lot of drawbacks, like creating bad impressions and allowing others to draw negative conclusions about a large group of people, it equally creates an awesome opportunity for us.
If what we value is directly correlated to what we spend the largest portions of our time, money and attention on, as Matthew 6:21 states, understanding what we value most is easy to determine.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
— Matthew 6:21
For someone with faith in Jesus, it might be a convicting moment to realize that what you value most is not a relationship with him, but instead things like a job, finances or your appearance.
But the silver lining and hope we can find is that, when our shortcomings and sins are brought into the light, we find mercy and can be brought in to the transformative power of Christ, ultimately allowing ourselves to be more aligned with him.
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
— Proverbs 28:13
So, to assure ourselves we don’t fall into a trap like the one God accuses the Israelites of in Malachi, we should take a long look at our lives and assess what we place emphasis on.
We must ask this question: Does our relationship with Jesus — no matter how young or old it may be — come from an obligation that’s been ingrained after years of attending church or a Community Group weekly, or does it come from a true outpouring of love for God?
True love is the result of an adoration of God’s sacrifice, faithfulness and brilliance that is so great, we can’t help but give that love, along with glory, back to him and, ultimately, to those around us.
The only way to develop that love, however, is through the Father himself — tasking us with an in-depth, relentless pursuit of his word, prayer and fulfillment of his commands.
Ask yourself that question described above, then determine if your love for God is true. If so, that love will result in the prioritizing of your life around him.