A few months ago, I began a series on Spiritual Zombies. They went on vacation for a while. But now, the Zombies have returned.
Announcing . . .
The Return of the Spiritual Zombies! Bwahahaha!
[So, if you’d like to catch up on past Zombie posts, go to the right side of my blog’s home page. Under Categories, click on Zombies!! You’ll find all you need. While you’re over there, why not subscribe to my blog. It doesn’t hurt, it’ll help me out, and it will only mean you will receive an email whenever I post.]
Question–Are churches creating Spiritual Zombies?
Answer– In some cases, YES. Many times, we teach people how to be moral; how to be “Ethical Christians”, forgetting there’s something more important than that. The primary purpose of the church is to restore people’s relationships with God through Jesus Christ.
Moral or ethical living without a relationship with God is still spiritual death.
To illustrate, let me tell you a story. I recently came down stairs for breakfast. To my surprise, a Zombie was sitting at my table.
He was a teenager; had a ballcap pulled down on his head, semi hiding a hanging ear. He gave me a half smile. . .because half his teeth were missing. (Remember, he was a Zombie) and said, “Hi dad.” It sounded more like “Grrriibble mphahh!!” Thankfuly, I speak a little Zombie and was able to translate.
“You’re not my son,” I said.
“Sure I am.” He spooned some cereal into his mouth. Sadly, it slipped through a hole in his cheek and drooled down his chin. This in itself wasn’t proof he wasn’t one of my sons. I’d seen them drool in a similar way.
I shook my head, as I got myself a bowl of granola (trying to stick to my diet). “Sorry, but I have four sons. You don’t look like any of them. Besides, you’re a Zombie.”
“But I act like your son. Look, I washed the dishes.” He pointed to the sink, where a pile of broken glass was strewn all around.
I gave him an A for effort, but couldn’t let him believe a lie. “You’re not my son.”
“But I mowed the lawn.”
I shook my head.
“I ate the cat. . .err I mean I fed the cat.”
I thought this an odd thing to say, seeing as we don’t even have a cat. “Err. . .Where’s my wife?”
He gave a sheepish Zombie look and shrugged his shoulders.
“Look, Mr. Zombie. . .”
“Kevin.”
“Kevin. I’m sorry, but you’re not my son. You may do all the chores they do. . .” I gazed back at the broken dishes. “Or at least, try to do them. . .but that doesn’t matter. My wife and I have six wonderful children who were born to us. You’re not one of them. At best, you’re someone who’s trying really hard.”
People are like this; sometimes churches– They do all the right things. We teach children memory verses; we learn the ten commandments; the 23rd psalm. We try to be good. With raised hands, we sing the proper praise songs, we take communion. Some have Confirmation classes. There’s all kinds of ways we can do the right things. But without a relationship with God, what good is it? We are still outsiders.
In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus said, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me.”
Christians, let’s be very careful. Where’s our emphasis– Teaching people how to live moral lives on the outside, or showing them how to get clean on the inside; how to restore a relationship with God? Sadly, if churches emphasize the outward things, in a couple of generations they’ll forget what they were all about.
As I was trying to explain this to Kevin, I hadn’t realized he’d gotten out of his seat and slowly made his way behind me. “Kevin. . .Why are you trying to bite my head?”
Next time – What Spritual Zombies Want! BRAINS!