The Lord is my vending machine!

I was visiting someone in hospital yesterday, when I walked past a vending machine. It is strange, I know, but it made me think of the way we treat God sometimes. Some people change Psalm 23 to read ... "The Lord is my vending machine - I shall not be in want. He provides me with my every desire. I pray my prayer and then expect him to deliver what I have ordered. When he doesn't give me what i want, I get upset & ask for more."

How many Christians see God in this way? Lord, I put my money into the machine (pray the prayers) and I get to choose what I want - if that item doesn't fall to the dispenser at the bottom, then I get upset. That is not the way you work Lord. Forgive us for treating you like a machine - cold, practical and 'just there!'

I think that this 'beans, rice and pap' challenge is also making me think a lot about the way I live my life. We have the privilege of many things at our disposal and if we are honest, we don't want for much. This can blur the way I see my relationship with God and soon I expect the same from him. God doesn't have to be answering my ever whim - He desires to honoured, worshipped and glorified.

Anyway, next time we go past a vending machine, let's think about the nature of our prayers.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3