A prostitute is someone that provides pleasure for money. This person is commonly purchased for a specified amount of time by the hour. There is no real relationship being built. There is no trust, love, or communication. There is no expectation to grow and mature as better person as a result of this interaction. This is a transaction for personal gratification at the expense of another person and millions of transactions take place every day in this world. The question remains. Do you treat God like a prostitute?
There are 168 hours in a week. I commonly use this strategy to help people identify what is causing them stress in their life. A healthy sleep schedule would reduce that amount by 49 hours leaving you with 119 hours each week. The average employee would reduce that amount by another 40 hours of work leaving you with 79 hours each week. The remainder of that time is filled with work commute, meals, hygiene, extra-curriculars, kid events, friends, and family time. People often question why their marriage is so rocky until they see how they put more time into social media or extracurriculars than their partner for life.
Now consider how much of those 168 hours are invested in a relationship with God? How would you describe the strength and quality of your relationship with God based off those numbers? Do you feel disconnected, distant, or alone from God? Would your number of hours invested portray that God has withdrawn from you or is it you that has withdrawn from God? Lucky for us, God never withdraws from us. That's where we can fall into the exploitation of God.
Are you one of millions that goes to a building to offer your money to feel good about yourself for an hour once a week? Does that offering provide you the confidence or justification to throw up a few prayers between meetings at the building? It is a service available when you need it. It is a service people particularly seek out when they really need it during crisis in life! Even the unbelieving person will throw up a hail mary in dire straights. Are you different outside of those meetings when interacting with the general public, friends, or co-workers?
This may sound very convicting when you start to connect how the treatment of a prostitute by a patron can sound very similar to your treatment of God. Do you seek a God for rent by the hour or do you seek a God that walks with you every minute of the 168 hours each week? A God that freely offers you more than a moment of relief or pleasure, but a God that has already died for you and loves you more than you likely love yourself.
How do you go from an hourly rate God to a full-time God? How would 5 minutes in His Word change you today? How would it change your frame of reference? Where do you even start in that giant book called the Bible? Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John are all amazing starting points. Long-term behavioral change starts with the first step. I would challenge you to find one bible verse to memorize. Rehearse that single verse daily for a week. One verse each week would result in 52 verses being memorized in a year. Never underestimate the power of 5 intentional minutes with the Creator of the Universe.
I use the imagery of numbers because they are easy to communicate our priorities. If this exercise has exposed your heart to unintentionally view God as a transactional being, but convicted you to pursue a relationship with your creator to know a love you have forgotten or never known; look at the numbers. Read, listen, or serve to grow in relationship with God. It will transform you inside and out. The numbers don't lie.
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