Ezekiel 33:30-32 in the New Century Version (NCV) reads, “But as for you, human, your people are talking about you by the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to each other: ‘Come now, and hear the message from the Lord.’ 31 So they come to you in crowds as if they were really ready to listen. They sit in front of you as if they were my people and hear your words, but they will not obey them. With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits. 32 To your people you are nothing more than a singer who sings love songs and has a beautiful voice and plays a musical instrument well. They hear your words, but they will not obey them.”

When I read those words I thought, “How applicable to the church today!” For many church is nothing more than an alternative from of entertainment. They come and enjoy the music, they participate in the various activities offered, but they don’t take the message to heart. Ezekiel said of the people of his day, “With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits.” The prophet Isaiah had a similar observation, “The Master said: ‘These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren’t in it. . . they act like they’re worshiping me but don’t mean it.’” (Isaiah 29:13 MSG).

Now I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I am willing to venture that a whopping 80% of people who attend church today are firmly in Ezekiel’s and Isaiah’s category of people who listen but don’t really care what God has to say.

Tough words; hard words. Some who have read them have responded by calling me in their own minds “judgmental” and harsh. Think about it though. In the area I am writing from we have at least 6 what church growth specialists call “Mega Churches.” Now I would think that if the vast number of people who attend these churches were fully committed Christians their impact on society would be phenomenal. Is that what we are seeing? Unfortunately not. In fact what we are seeing is a large group of people who claim church membership but whose lives reflect the values of the world. “With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits.”

Lest you think the above statement is nothing but envy on my part, let me state that one man at one of these churches stated, “We have a beautiful worship service–it’s great. But it is not uncommon to leave the service and find people in fist-fights in the parking lot because someone did not let them out when they wanted out.” “They sit in front of you as if they were my people and hear your words, but they will not obey them.”

What is true in the Mega churches holds true in the mini churches as well. We seem to have a Christianity today that is much more form than function. Oh, dear reader, if this describes you, a beg of you, repent. If your Christianity is a Sunday only thing or if your walk with Christ does not have a major impact in how you walk daily in the world, something is horribly wrong. No one can come to Christ and leave the same!