Low-Key Religion: Zealous, Half-Hearted, or Lukewarm?

A young lady described her prayer as low-key. Many people have low-key religion in worship, Bible study, devotion, and morality. Is this zealous religion or lukewarm religion?

A young woman once told our son-in-law that she and her boyfriend had fled from the police in a high-speed chase. She said she was praying for their safety, but it was a “low-key prayer.”

How do you define a “low-key prayer”? It sounds like prayer from someone with little commitment to God. They know they are wrong yet still hope God will help them in an emergency.

I suspect that many people are “low-key,” not just in prayer, but in religion in general, though they may not admit it as honestly as this young lady did. Consider some examples:

The Work of the Church: Social or Spiritual?

Some churches offer entertainment, recreation, social activities, banquets, parties, and other fun and games. This is the Social Gospel philosophy. Churches seek to help people spiritually by satisfying them physically. Is this the gospel of the New Testament?

I was recently handed a promotional advertisement that read as follows:

Da Vinci’s Painting of the Last Supper

Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper illustrates the power of sin to defile souls and the power of Jesus' blood to cleanse sin.

The following is reported as a true story: When Leonardo Da Vinci painted his picture of the Last Supper, he began by searching for a model for the face of Jesus. Finally he found a young man with a pure and noble face suitable for Jesus.

More than ten years later, the last face he needed was Judas: a face with the curse of sin, suitable for a traitor. Finally, he found a man in the most disreputable part of the city, but the man vigorously refused. When Da Vinci asked why, the man said, “Twelve years ago, I sat here in this very room. You copied my face on that wall to represent the face of Jesus, and now you want it to represent the face of Judas.” *

A few years of living in sin can change a person from the likeness of Jesus to that of Judas. This may not always be true in physical appearance, but it is definitely true spiritually.