That phenomenon doesn’t happen all at once. People don’t just get up one morning and decide to quit serving the Lord. Spiritual death happens slowly. Their faith erodes. Gradually. They stop their personal worship and meditation about spiritual things. They don’t pray much or seek the company of brethren. In fact, they shy away from such associations. They become critical of the services and dodge having any part in the public worship. People who call and inquire about their whereabouts are considered “meddling in my business.”

They begin to look for ways to justify their lack of spiritual zeal. They find excuses for not attending on Wednesday night. Once their conscience will tolerate that neglect, they find it easy to excuse themselves from Sunday night. It’s just a step then to quitting all together.

There are preventatives to spiritual decay, ways to prevent the gradual demise of ones’ faith and faithfulness. Here are three:

Keep on living. Living the Christian life, I mean. It’s hard. There’s no doubt about that, but think about what is the reward, think about what your faithfulness means about your eternal destiny. A hard life is a small thing when compared to an eternal life of bliss. Simple economics argues that a small investment that results in a large dividend is good. In this case, it is foolish to do otherwise. “Be ye therefore steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, inasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58) is saying invest in the eternal things, hang the difficulties. Live the life. If it’s hard, endure it. If it calls for courage, get it on. If it means you must suffer, remember, “no pain, no gain”. Heaven is worth the living. That’s all there is to it.

Keep on learning. Lack of spiritual growth is a decision, not a natural occurrence. You decide to do it. “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:18). “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2).” “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have head, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Heb. 21). Growth is a deliberate process, one that requires intense concentrate, the most fervent dedication. If you ingest the word (Jn. 6:51), and if you digest the word, you will grow. Bread is necessary for your spiritual growth just as it is for the sustenance of your physical body. And learning is the basis for all spiritual growth. Furthermore, in this case, you don’t ever get grown—you have to keep on learning to keep on growing.

Keep on loving. Motive is such a vital part of all we do. And love is what motive is all about. It furnishes the energy for one who wants to keep on living the righteous life. It furnishes the necessary propellant for learning, creates curiosity and determination to fuel growth. It is the incentive for good strong relationships—family, friends, business. It even brings a stimulus for solving torn or fractured relationships. Paul says love is longsuffering, kind and not easily provoked (1 Cor. 13:4-5). One who loves his neighbor as himself is described in James 2 as one who fulfils the royal law (Jas. 2:8). You have to love people in spite of their warts, in spite of their occasional disappointing actions, even in spite of their not loving like you do. You don’t ever give up on love, it’s the supreme motive, the highest good, the strongest provocation for righteousness and piety. Love lives.

It’s almost impossible for your faith to erode, your care to diminish, your faithfulness to fade if you keep on living, learning, loving. The person who wants to go to heaven will keep on—keep on living, keep on learning, and keep on loving. How about you?

Copyright (C) 2002-2005 Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.