Mixed loyalties

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (James 4:8-10)

There will be times when we don't feel all that close to God. It isn't because he has left us, or withdrawn from us, but that we have let something come between us. We get all wrapped up in stuff that takes our focus off of this relationship, or we follow some compromise that makes us feel totally yucky in the end. If we want to feel that closeness again, it may require some 'adjustments' on our part. We need to unclutter our lives, confess our compromise, or a combo of both.

Divided loyalty probably causes us more issues in our daily lives than anything else. It is that battle the Apostle Paul spoke of when he described wanting to do good but doing just the opposite. Probably the hardest question to ask ourselves is where our loyalties lie. Many times we will discover they lie heaviest on the side of doing things that please ourselves in spite of knowing they aren't the best for us. When we are off-balance like this, we likely don't take much time relating with Jesus. Less time with him means feeling like HE has withdrawn from us.

Come close...that is our part. He will come near to us...that is his part. It is wise to examine our priorities each day because we can get so wrapped up in what draws us in so easily and not even realize we are being drawn away from God. It is wise to bring our day to him, ask him for his priorities, and then let him clarify where we should be and what we should be doing. We never know when HIS priorities will be the very thing that bring the greatest blessing into our lives. Just sayin!