Respect it

Jeremiah 7:9-15

“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,[a] burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD.

12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

What a fool you are if you think you can live a life that reflects sin and yet you go to church expecting forgiveness. What does God say? "I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen...I will thrust you from my presence..." If you don't listen to what God is telling you, be prepare to be humiliated before God and man. That's probably the worst thing that could happen to you. Being embarrassed in front of God.

Tragedy of living for myself

The Christian life is and has always been about God first, people second, me third. When you mix up the order your life begins to fall apart. Always God has to be the first priority of life. Second, learning to love others is essential to this order because when you give, people give back to you and that keeps this perpetual cycle of uplifting momentum between each other. Lastly, is yourself. Loving yourself is key to having a healthy life, but when you forget others and focus on yourself, well then problems will arise. God has designed love to be the foundation of one's life, and if you can't love others, then your life will crumble up into nothing but selfishness. When your thoughts begin to focus on yourself you begin the "tragedy of living for myself." The Chris and Conrad song "Breathe your life" defines this so beautifully. Only God can restore the person who begins to live selfishly. If right now you have unsettled the order of life, then ask the Holy Spirit to come and revitalize you into new person and to "Breathe your life in me" so that you can fulfill God's purposes in your life and in others.