Formalism

One of the great dangers of Christianity is formalism. It comes when I base someone's spirituality on outward appearances. That someone being me. When I replace inward devotion with reluctant external obedience, I have become a formalist. I have the form of godliness but not the power of godliness. Others may be taken in by my pretense; God is not. And in most cases, I know that I'm living a lie. I am doing all the right motions but there is not a song in my heart. I may with great flourish sing "deep and wide," but I'm wading in the shallows--and I know it. Now, I'm not talking about those times when the struggle is hard, when obedience demands all my focus and energy. I'm talking about those times when obedience is easy but motivated by what I think people expect of me. I want everyone to think I'm spiritual knowing that if I moved to another town where no one knew me, I wouldn't go on with the pretense of loving God.
The great danger of formalism is the susceptibility to temptation. In the moment when I think the formality of obedience can't be seen, I opt to give in to sin and disobedience. The result is that I become an even bigger stickler for external obedience and enchained by secret sin. That eventually leads to a great fall when my real internal me becomes visible to all around me. Many men and women have lost any further chance of ministry at such a time.
What is the cure? It begins with honest confession. I must agree with God that I am going through the motions with a cold heart. And then I must repent. I must ask Him to bring to my remembrance those times when His love for me controlled my every thought and thus my actions. Then, I must go back to doing those things. The time to start that process if I am a perpetrator of formalism is now. You cannot walk on the edge very long without a disastrous fall.