I enjoy listening to sermons. God-exalting, Jesus-loving, bible-preaching sermons. And they are great sermons, preached by some of the best handlers of the Word in the West today. But something came to the surface that I sort of knew all along. I was seeking to satisfy my desire for entertainment in sermons. If Satan cannot get us with the usual sex, money, and power, then surely entertainment is one of his weapons of choice. Why? Because it’s very stealthy. It can be cloaked in such an appealing light. What’s wrong with popping in your favorite action thriller on DVD? Or what’s wrong with catching up on the latest news? Or what could be better than listening to a series of great sermons by the likes of John Piper or Tim Keller?
I love to hear the best communciators, the most fiery preachers, and the most elogquent orators. I’ve been amazed by the new knowledge that I’ve learned in the scriptures. I’ve even often been convicted of sin through the many sermons that I’ve listened to. And yet, if I’m honest with myself, I’d rather listen to sermons than go knock on the door of my neighbor to get to know him, because it’s much easier. Listening to sermons takes no effort. It’s a pleasurable way of passing the time. It’s like my “Christian” movie of choice. They’re interesting, funny, emotionally stirring, and yet just like movies, often forgettable, and almost never actionable. Not that the sermons are bad at all, only my ears and heart are.
I know there are things that God has gifted me in. I want to teach, preach, and write more, and for me listening to sermons has been one of the ways in which I’d prefer to seek entertainment rather than exercise the gifts God has given me. It’s so easy to justify listening to sermons or reading up on Christian topics because we think if we’re doing something related to Christianity, then we must be doing the will of God. But we must examine our hearts to see if our desire is nothing more than the thirst for entertainment cloaked in acceptable Christian themes. Does not God judge us according to our deeds? Or will we receive our heavenly rewards on the basis of how many theologically sound sermons we listened to or watched? Let us be honest and confess our sins of entertainment-driven procrastination. Let us grab hold of Jesus’ promise to build his kingdom through his church and boldly assume the role that he’s given us in his body to accomplish the work that he’s prepared before hand for us to do.