Duty - to me or to God

My son has helped me become alert to the fact that many of the things we attempt to offer to God are really just convoluted ways of feeding our own self-image.

Case in point: I am working my way through a 2 year bible, reading a little each morning. As of today, I am almost two weeks behind and I caught myself this morning using time I didn't have to catch up. Normally, I would have subconsciously congratulated myself on this little task, the catching up and being on the right day. But with my son's words ringing in my ears, I realized this catching up is actually just a way of getting an A in the "God class." Years in the school system have made me a grade-chaser.

So, I pushed back my chair and consciously chose to be the B student that I am -- a grade that reflects the priority I put on making time each day to connect with God.

I expect God appreciates the honesty more than being caught up.

And I will try to offer him a faithfulness in the future that puts my time with God higher on the priority list.