There’s an old saying… “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
This can be true in our relationship with God, but the contempt looks more like casualness. Our familiarity with God can lead us to casually take Him for granted…which is a subtle form of contempt.
As we grow closer to God, our responses to Him should be like the response of the twenty-four elders in Revelation 4:9-11. There they fell down before God, casting anything they had of worth before Him, and confessing His majesty and greatness.
Now, we don’t live in the throne room of Heaven, so how can we keep our familiarity with God from turning to casualness and contempt? How can we give God the honor He deserves in the midst of our get-out-of-bed-and-pay-your-bills world?
In Leviticus chapters 23 and 24 we find two major elements of honoring God that can be applied to our everyday lives.
Leviticus chapter 23 calls God’s people to regularly REMEMBER His goodness and activity in their lives, and Leviticus chapter 24 calls God’s people to unquestionably OBEY His commands.
Remembering God’s goodness and obeying His commands should be a regular part of our everyday life. These two things should be as signature to us as our fingerprints. They should identify us as followers of Christ and citizens of Heaven.
So, don’t let your knowledge of God cause you to be casual in relating to Him. Daily remember His goodness, His power, and His deeds. Honor Him by quickly responding in obedience when He speaks to you.
Let your familiarity with God breed and increasing awe and reverence of Him.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.