Do we forget what we really believe sometimes? If not, how else do we explain professing to believe something but also realizing that our lives are not showing evidence of it? We say with our mouths that we need God. We confess that if not for Him we would be nothing. We tell our children that God created man. We state that without Him we are capable of nothing truly good. But how is it that although I "say" I need God so much, that I can wake in the morning and start my day without so much as a thought of how much I will really need from him that day. How is it that in the practice of my day, I do not hear myself praying to Him. I do not see myself stop and consider his will for me. I plan my day my way, I act according to how I see fit, and when I am spent and exhausted it never occurs to me that maybe I should be leaning on Him. Would that be like telling Natalie I need to be with her, to talk with her, to see her, and then say "OK, see you later, hope you have a good day" and not say another word to her all day? If we really believe something, isn't it understood that is should be obvious to someone else. If I really believe I need Natalie in my life every day, shouldn't she be able to notice it? This is what I do to God. I nod my head to the pastor's sermons, I share in the teaching in my class, I tell others how much I need God. A day in my life shows a different story though. A mile in my shoes is one of self confidence, carrying out my own plans, justifying my ways, and never giving a second thought to it.
It's called ungodliness. The Apostle Paul writes about ungodliness and unrighteousness. Two words I've always taken to be synonyms, two sides of the same coin. But they're not. The most moral, kind, loving, and otherwise good person in all of human history could be all of those traits without being Godly. People can be "good" people without knowing God. Being unrighteous on the other hand is a little more obvious. Unrighteousness is visible in peoples outright negative actions; lying, cheating, stealing, and others. All it takes to be ungodly is to forget Him, carry on a day without a thought about Him, forget to consider what He may want or desire for you, or from you. Probably the biggest problem with Christians leading ungodly lives is that we don't often notice that we're doing it. We have to be made aware of it, we have to have our eyes opened to it, then we can hope to change. Much better to be in the habit of asking God every day to open our eyes to our need for him than to be made aware of it later after having lived life as a Christian who didn't need God.
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