god should mean more than your workout routine

i like to exercise. i try to go run two or three times a week. i say i like to exercise, but the truth is, i do it more because i feel it's good for me and i enjoy the benefits of it than i do for the sheer joy of crawling out of bed on a cold morning and forcing my legs to move. i do it, then forget about it. besides the health benefits, it has no effect on my daily life except for the sometimes i have to re-arrange my schedule slightly to squeeze it in.

granted, i know there are people who are passionate about running. it's their passion, they love it and they do center their lives around it. that's great. i'm talking about the other 95% of us, who exercise because we have to, because we feel like it's a good thing to do, because we think it'll improve our life or something.

now, i've been church shopping and i've not really found a place i want to commit to going. but, i have come to the realization that most people treat church like a workout routine. they squeeze it in sunday mornings, pop their daily prayer and bible reading like vitamins and then forget about it. they do it to improve their lifestyle, to make them look good, to make them feel good.

unfortunately, i want more than that. i don't want god to "improve" my lifestyle, i want a lifestyle that is centered around god. that is about god and not me. not about me feeling good or looking good but about him feeling good and looking good.

maybe that's not possible to find in churches now, i don't know. all i know is that we can't compartmentalize god. he doesn't want to be penciled in, he wants all of your day.

and on a side note, the church i went to on sunday played a collection of taylor swift, beyonce, sara bereilles and kanye west in the lobby before service! and after the worship songs, the team played "apologize" by one republic! i was kind of shocked, to say the least. shouldn't god be honored in our music, ESPECIALLY at church?