Can you imagine robbing yourself of one of the greatest joys and most fulfilling experiences you can have as a living human being on this earth? Of course not. It would be ridiculous to take that type of experience away from ourselves. We would have to be foolish to do so. But that’s exactly what we do.
He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. (Matthew 21:13)
I want to re-imagine this scene with you: Jesus was literally talking about the Temple of God in Jerusalem. People would come from all over the world to worship God at the temple dedicated to Him. When they got there, there were people who took advantage of people who had come to worship God. They were robbing them at the money tables– these people were converting money unfairly and making a profit off people who were trying to simply do what was right. If you wanted to get swindled, all you would have to do is come to the Temple of God and you were taken for all you had. Now, let me re-imagine this scene again with you: Jesus says, “We are his temple, where His spirit dwells, as we are true worshippers”; but how many times have we robbed ourselves out of real relationship with God for a short term confidence boost? For example, when we went to church last, did we take our opportunity to connect with God in prayer or simply squander that time to feel good about coming to church and suffering through half an hour of your life listening to a few good one-liners from the pastor? Or when we had an opportunity to pray about a situation, did we rob ourselves of praying about the situation by making the rash decision to not engage the situation at all? Are we houses of prayer or are we dens for robbers, where we rob ourselves of the opportunity to connect with God on a daily basis because it’s easier to do so? Don’t rob God’s temple (you) from experiencing God’s grace and love.
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