Lukewarm = No bueno

So, I'm reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" (finally... I've been meaning to for awhile now!). So far it is very thought-provoking and convicting, at the very least. =) Right now, I'm in Chapter 4 - Profile of the Lukewarm. Francis lists a bunch of signs of a Lukewarm Christian--one trying to live for both the World and Christ, which is impossible. Like Francis says, a Lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron.

Anyway, one description really stood out to me:

LUKEWARM PEOPLE do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexpected happens--they have their savings account. They don't need God to help them--they have their retirement account in place. They don't genuinely seek out what life God would have them live--they have life figured and mapped out. They don't depend on God on a daily basis--their refridgerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.

(See Luke12:16-21 and Hebrews 11 for scripture that Francis gives for rebutting this characteristic of a Lukewarm Christian.)

Wow. Talk about convicting. We are such control freaks in this day and age, that we don't want to have to depend on whether God might help us out in a bind. We want to make sure we have a back-up plan.

How dare we have a back-up plan to God!

I may not have a savings account with more than $100 (no, seriously... lol). I may not have elected to have the best retirement plan the County has to offer. I may even appear to be very reckless when it comes to my future by the world's standards. Yet I know, however, that despite appearances, I don't always completely trust that God is going to take care of me. For example, I don't always tithe as much as I should when I know that I barely have enough to buy groceries and some gas before my next paycheck. Instead of just giving the Lord what I owe Him, I hold back a little to make sure I can get a few extra things from the market.

How shameful. I'm basically telling Him that I don't think He will sustain me for the next few days so I'm going to dip into His account... the money that is RIGHTFULLY HIS. Wow! WOW!

Lord, forgive me for not fully trusting in You at ALL TIMES. From now on I will go hungry before I act like a Lukwarm Christian:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. - Revelation 3:15-17