Do You Really Love God?
Do You Really Love God?
I once heard a man give a testimony on Sunday morning about how God had convicted him because he’d been putting football before God.
He loved football more than God, and so he would leave church early sometimes, so that he didn’t miss kick-off.
He loved football more than God, so during football season, he couldn’t commit to any ministry opportunities that might need him to be available during a football game.
He loved football more than God, so he’d spend thousands of dollars on ESPN and jerseys and game tickets and memorabilia, but didn’t always have enough money to tithe or to financially help someone else who was struggling to make ends meet.
He loved football more than God, and he’d realized that that was wrong. He’d had a change of mind and a change of heart; and in the spirit of repentance, he made some pretty notable changes to his life…
He decided that he wasn’t going to leave church early anymore. If he missed the kickoff, so be it. That would be his sacrifice to the God he claimed to love—his act of worship.
He decided to get involved in ministry and to commit to helping out once a week, even if it meant missing a football game now and then. After all, God mattered more than football.
He decided to sell most of his jerseys and memorabilia, and to put the money he earned to better use—holier use. His money was God’s money, and God wasn’t really invested in one single sports team anyway, if any.
At face value, it really looked like this man had turned a corner and was taking his relationship with God very seriously.
Then one night, a while later, my husband and I went out to dinner with him and his wife. Afterward, she invited us over to their house to play games, so that we could all spend more time together.
He was visibly less enthusiastic about her impromptu invitation, and made sure to let us know there was a football game that evening. So long as we were okay with the football game playing in the background, however, it was okay for us to come over, he supposed.
The football game started, and so did our tabletop game. Three of us were chatting and laughing and enjoying one another’s company. He was watching the football game, mostly.
At one point, there was a commercial break, and he joined into the gaiety, for a few minutes. But then, the football game started back up, and unfortunately, the rest of us didn’t notice. So we didn’t quiet down—not enough—and something “important” happened in the game… and he missed it.
He couldn’t hear the commentators over his wife’s voice, and became furious. He started yelling at his wife—the woman he supposedly loved—for making him miss the play.
We were taken aback. In retrospect, I wish we’d spoken up. The worst thing that could’ve happened was that he might’ve yelled at us too, or asked us to leave. We ended up leaving soon after, anyway.
I thought a lot about that night, in the days that followed. Based on the way his wife cowered in shame in response to his bellowing, apologizing to him and no longer speaking above a whispered tone, it seemed obvious to me that this was not an uncommon occurrence in their home. And the way he treated his wife that night put his Sunday morning testimony in a very different light, for me. It meant a whole lot less.
Because what he said with his mouth, and even what he tried to show with his actions, was that he loves God more than football now.
But the thing is, he for sure still loved football more than his wife (or his guests, for that matter). And the way we treat other people says a lot about our love for God, or lack thereof…
The Apostle John put it like this:
If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister [or wife, or husband, or fill in the blank], thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. - 1 John 4:20-21 (MSG, emphasis added)
And Jesus Himself said this:
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another… If you love me, you will keep my commands.” - John 13:34-35, 14:15 (CSB, emphasis added)
The simple but hard truth is this:
If we say we love God more than anything, and even do a bunch of “good” or “spiritual” things to demonstrate our love for God, but we still treat the people God loves (and has called us to love as well) like they don’t matter, or like they matter less than anything else (be it a football game or a ministry role at church)… we don’t really love God at all. We’re just deceiving ourselves (and maybe some other people, too) with our empty, dutiful religious practices—kind of like the pharisees did, back in Jesus’ day.
This is challenging me, as I consider my own life, and even some of the things I’ve said and done over the past few weeks, and how my words and actions (or inactions) have affected the people closest to me…
I don’t know about you, but I want to be becoming the kind of person who isn’t just morally “good” and actively involved in ministry (which, by the way, is just religious busywork, if we’re not genuinely concerned about the people we’re ministering to); I don’t want to appear to love God because of my religious fervor, or how much I read my Bible, or how often I go to church; rather, I want to be the kind of person who cares so much about other people that my love for God is obvious simply because of the way I love them.
Whether or not we genuinely love other people is the truest metric—the only metric—the litmus test for loving God. Trying to measure our love for God by any other standard will always provide us with a false reading.
So here’s my challenge to you as well: As you reflect on your own life, and your interactions with other people (or opportunities to interact, even if you didn’t take them), how have your words and actions (or inactions) affected the people God’s placed in your life? Is the way you’ve been treating other people evidence of a genuine love for God? Or have you been measuring your love for God primarily by how well you’re following the letter of God’s law (regardless of the spirit in which it was given; see Mark 2:23-3:6), or by how involved you are in your church, or by all the personal sacrifices you’ve made for God?
Jesus said that the whole Law of God hinges on two commands: love God, and love people (Matthew 22:37-40). But remember, Jesus also said that we demonstrate our love for Him by obeying His command to love others the same way He loves us (John 13:34-35, 14:15).
So if you want to love God, here’s a good place to start: Just love the next person you see like Jesus.
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