Monday Morning Atheism

For many people, there's a disconnect between what they talk about on Sundays in church and what goes on in the business world on Mondays. They live what I would call compartmentalized lives, with their world divided into segments of church life, home life, business life, entertainment life, etc. And never the twain shall meet.

I don't think that's even close to the life Jesus called us to. The authentic Christian life is an integrated life where our relationship with God affects our decisions and priorities all day and all week long, 24/7. So many people live frustrated lives because of that internal contradiction, or as Jesus Himself called it, hypocrisy.

In his book Monday Morning Atheist, author Doug Spada wrote of that contradiction, and said it is like turning off a switch. We "switch off God" when we leave the church grounds, or even when we close our Bible in our devotional life, and then go back to the real world where God is not welcome. It's like we really don't believe in God, outside His "place."  Hence, the title of the book.

So, are you a Monday morning atheist? Does God have a place in your life on your job, or at school? Or, are you a Friday night atheist? Do you leave Him at home when it comes to your weekend entertainment choices? Or when fall comes and football season kicks off, are you a Saturday afternoon atheist? Does your allegiance to a school or team leave your devotion to Christ in the dust?

So many of us are prone to live a life of spiritual schizophrenia, where we have the ability to separate our faith from our business life, and live part of our day as if we don't' believe God exists. That's a serious indictment, but a look across the landscape of church life shows it's more of the norm than the exception.

It was Vance Havner who used to say that "If Jesus is not Lord of all, He's not Lord at all."  That is, you can't pick and choose the areas of your life where you are surrendered to Christ. He made the ultimate sacrifice for each of us--we were "bought with a price"--and our lives are not our own. That includes our time, our money, our work, our relationships, our everything. He is Lord of all.

May each of us live this week in such a way that it is evident that we are believers in Jesus Christ every day of the week, and that He is Lord over all that we are and everything we do.