Recently I had a conversation with a friend of mine who asked me about a few specific scriptures. Her question, shockingly enough, was if I really believed what the scriptures said.

At first, my reaction was probably similar to yours.

Gasp! “How dare she?”

But, as a young believer, she was struggling with things she read and how she interpreted them. If you’re growing in your faith at all, you’ve been there. I took the time to show my friend how to use her Bible and a few tools on the internet (Lexicons, Commentaries, etc.) and encouraged her to prayerfully consider what she was reading before she jumped to any conclusions.

Why, you ask, didn’t I just tell her its scripture and she should just believe it? For one reason really: if she takes the time to learn on her own she will remember what she learned and if she’s questioned, she’ll know what she believes – not what someone told her to believe.

Her question has come back to my mind several times, though. Do we, as Christians, treat scripture like it’s the box on the TV game show Deal or No Deal? As scriptural contestants, we look at the commands on the board weeding out the easier ones and leaving the hard ones for more deliberation. With our own wants and desires being the banker, we weigh the odds of each scriptural command against the consequences of taking the deal or pressing forward.

• Accept an invitation for dinner with that flirtatious co-worker? No deal!
• Allow the accountant to smudge those numbers on our taxes? Our hand shakes as we hover over the little box but we finally decide – no deal!
• Tell your wife you’re spending time with the buds when you’re really playing golf? Deal!
• Skip church on Sunday morning to take the family to the lake? Deal!

For every deal we take that directly conflicts with the expectations of God, the further we move from His plan for us. Sure, we can justify that a day with family on the lake is reconnecting to what’s important – and it very well may be. But when one Sunday becomes two and then we fall into the habit of every Sunday, rain or shine…how far have we gone and how easy is it to just walk back into church again?

We play this game every day too. Trust me, even I want to argue about that. But it’s true.

• Watch TV instead of reading scripture? Deal.
• Playing on the internet instead of playing with your children? Deal
• Talking to friends on the phone instead of talking to your spouse? Deal.

Moment after moment, we weigh the odds of each decision and either slam the box accepting the deal or hold out for "something better." What we must decide for ourselves is this: are we holding out for something better according to God’s standards or our own?