Do you ever feel like it is just a lot of work to be a Christian? You know all the things you should be doing. Is it really necessary to do all those things? Maybe even wondering if it is worth all the effort. Here is how to be a shallow Christian.

8 Things a shallow Christian does:

Here are 8 easy things that a shallow Christian does. These will not take much effort or work on your part.

1. Purchase a Bible but don’t bother to read it. Just leave it on the end table. Dust it once a month so it doesn’t appear to be too dusty.
2. Don’t bother to pray. It is not worth it. God does what he wants and your prayers don’t make a difference. Prayer isn’t worth it.
3. Keep all your money for yourself. Don’t give to the church, missionaries or other organizations. You earned it. You spend it. After all, you need to save for retirement. You need to look out for yourself.
4. Attend church only when it fits your schedule. When you have nothing else that day and woke up early enough even though you didn’t bother to set an alarm. If you do attend just slip in at the end of the first song. If the sermon looks like it will be too long, go ahead and leave before it begins. No one will notice.
5. Do not sign up to serve in any way. Serving will take your time and then you won’t be able to watch that TV series you purchased or go on holiday when you want. Serving gets in the way of things you want to do.
6. Don’t bother to let people know you are a Christian. When the topic comes up at work, be sure to have just taken a bite so you don’t have to answer. If you aren’t eating, a coughing fit will allow you to excuse yourself and get some water. Avoid answering the question and letting people know you are a Christian.
7. Absolutely do not commit to a small group or a Bible study. If there are less than 15 people in the group, you will be missed when you skip, called on to give your thoughts, and asked to pray. You do not want to have to answer questions, discuss the meaning of the passage or give you input into how to apply the truths or be asked to pray aloud. Just stay away from small groups they get too personal.
8. Don’t bother looking deep within your heart. It will show areas that you have to change and that will be work. Just live at the surface. You don’t want to have to change much about your life.

This is a light-hearted look at how to be a shallow Christian. You might have seen yourself in a few of these responses. While it might look at this is the easy way to live, it is not the way God has called us to live. So how has God called us to live?

Begin to plant deep and avoid being a shallow Christian

God doesn’t want you to be a shallow Christian. God wants you to be a Christian who is changed and growing in the likeness of Christ. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and boy be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (ESV) A shallow Christian will not be growing in the likeness of Christ.

He wants you to grow and bear fruit. I don’t want you to be a shallow Christian. I want you to dig deep and grow. When you grow deep, your life will be filled with joy and fruit. “Therefore, as you received Christi Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV) A shallow Christian will not bear fruit.

Jesus is calling us to follow him and to walk in the Spirit. To obey God, we cannot be shallow Christians. We must learn to be real, dig deep, shine bright, and do the difficult things. It might mean denying ourselves. This might not be an easy life but it is a rewarding one.

Good Soil is necessary to not be a shallow Christian

Jesus told the parable of the sower in Mark 4 and Luke 8. First, the seed falls on the path where the birds devour it, it is trampled and never grows. Then some of the seed falls on the rocks, it grows a bit but doesn’t have the deep roots so it dies. Some of the seeds fall among the thorns which choke it out and the seed dies. Some seed fell on good soil, it grew and yielded a hundredfold.

That last bit of seeds fell on good soil, soil that was free of rocks and thorns. This soil is a good environment for seeds to grow. These seeds were able to go deep, have roots that were well-watered and able to grow, produce fruit, and withstand hardship.

“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15

Our lives should be like the seed in the good soil. As we are planted in good soil, we will grow and bear fruit.

Don’t be a shallow Christian.  Dig to have deep roots that will allow us to bear fruit. Be a growing and fruitful Christian.

As you ponder being a deep Christian, here are some posts to help you.

How to Move from Duty to Delight in Reading the Bible

How to Give from your Heart

6 Spiritual Goals you Need to Set in the New Year