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4 Signs You May Be Suffering From Spiritual Decay

by | 69 comments

4 Signs You May Be Suffering From Spiritual Decay

Athens in ruins.

Such words evoke centuries old images of one of the great cities reduced to rubble.

The images of Athens in ruins you’ll see below are startling. Not because their thousands of years old, but demonstrate what can happen in ten short years since the 2004 Summer Olympics.

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If this can happen this quickly to a city, I began to wonder how much faster this happens in our own hearts.

Here are 4 signs you may be suffering from spiritual decay:

1. God has become a cosmic vending machine.

You never meant for it to happen but somehow, somewhere along the way, your relationship with God became more transactional. You put in. You get out. You do. You receive. While you’re performing and accomplishing, the gifts of grace, joy, and peace fall to the wayside.

2. You’ve let go of spiritual disciplines.

Daily disciplines like reading the Bible, prayer, solitude, and reflection have been edged out of your life by busyness, distraction, and daily demands. A missed day now and then won’t lead to a collapse, but over time a slow decay of the heart sets in.

3. Your fervor for Jesus runs cool.

You may be spinning wheels around the church, spiritual activities, and service, but when you whisper the name Jesus aloud you realize how long it’s been since you’ve carved out time simply to be with Him. To allow the Holy Spirit to stoke the embers of your faith. To recapture wonder of knowing Him.

4. You’d rather be right than righteous.

You’re so convinced that being right—about theology, church strategy, leadership techniques, or behavior modification—that you’d rather win an argument than see a life change, a heart soften with repentance, a person drawn closer to Jesus through the tender way they were loved.

Decay happens faster than we realize. Not just in Athens, but in our own hearts.

May we be a people who follow Jesus in such a way that we breathe life, hope, and longevity.

What strikes you the most about the images of Athens now? How can you combat spiritual decay in your own life?

*Original Photo Source

 

69 Comments

  1. Mae
    Mae on October 22, 2014 at 11:29 am

    This post .. So resonated with me. What was once beautiful, what was, is void. It’s true, we want to be right. As often as yesterday, tears rolled. Little by little, – how did this happen? When we let a source of any kind, over-rule, decay sets in, I believe God warns us along the way!
    A source can be as simple as a heart broken. I see now. I hear His whisper, I sense someone beside me, something bigger, in the silence of a moment, we really do stand on holy ground!
    For me, at this moment, it doesn’t matter any longer if I am right! It matters that I pay attention
    Just like the photos of Athens, it matters more overtime what I do today in the long run! It matters to others, how I appear, what I say, that I don’t become a machine, running on self.
    Family. Friends, acquaintances, do pay attention, I need to let go of the thought I don’t make a difference, I do! I can make a difference. If I walk or run the race, it’s pretty short. Hearts are all entwined.

  2. Margaret
    Margaret on October 23, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    So true, Mae! We really can make a difference.

  3. Dolly Mink
    Dolly Mink on October 24, 2014 at 6:48 am

    This reminds me of the saying “all dressed up and nowhere to go.” The builders of the venue worked for years, and feverishly so near the start of the games, to have everything ready for the athletes. And now what? I think of myself getting ready for “church” on Sunday morning: the clothes, the hair…is my Bible an accessory? Is my faith? Shouldn’t I be more concerned with the neighbor I leave behind in the rear-view mirror? Or the barista serving me my over-priced latte? Thank you for this stirring reminder that I am responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of my faith. I pray I will not become an empty and unused vessel.

  4. Margaret
    Margaret on October 24, 2014 at 10:25 am

    Love that example, Dolly!

  5. Pam
    Pam on October 27, 2014 at 8:52 am

    Thank you for these solid, true reminders! The enemy is deceptive and works his work slow but sure. I see it often among believers. Being alert and self-controlled we’ll be victorious!

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    Absolutely lovely & wonderful, thank you so much!

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