“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” Matthew 7:21-23 NLT
Team Penske is facing serious consequences and public scrutiny for their most recent cheating scandal, in the 2025 Indianapolis 500, no less. After illegal modifications were found to the safety attenuator on two of their cars, they are facing fines, suspensions, and the loss of their qualifying positions for the prestigious race. They were supposedly trying to gain an aerodynamic advantage by smoothing out the area where the attenuator fastens to the car. However, teams are not allowed to modify this piece of equipment, and when they faced the likelihood that they had been caught, went to work on pit road trying to undo their actions, which is also illegal. Competing teams, drivers, and the fanbase are decrying Team Penske, as they are held to a very high standard since Roger Penske owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar series. We can draw many parallels from this situation into our spiritual lives and our journey with Jesus. Let’s unpack this further.
Just as IndyCar officials and fans are not tolerating Team Penske’s actions and attempted explanations, God does not tolerate cheating in our walk with him. While he forgives us when we sin and make mistakes, he does not tolerate blatant attempts to save ourselves, take shortcuts in our relationship with him, or self-righteous actions. We see this many times throughout Scripture.
First, we have to understand that God knows our hearts even better than we do. In John 2:24-25, John writes that Jesus really knew what each person was like. He could see through their words, thoughts, motives, and actions. Therefore, when we are trying to cut corners in our faith, make ourselves look more righteous or perfect than we are, or have ulterior motives, he already knows what is really going on. In many instances during Jesus’ ministry on earth, he saw right through the religious leaders’ self-righteousness and called them out. He even turned the tables of merchants in the Temple that were profiting off of people’s religious duties!
God also sees our actions and determines whether they are an attempt at self-righteousness and personal attention-grabbing or an act of service, submission, and offering to him. In Acts 5, we see that Ananias and Sapphira came to offer some money to the apostles, but in their hearts were selfishness and the desire to look like they were offering a greater sacrifice than they truly gave. Because of their dishonesty, God struck them dead right in front of the apostles. They were not afraid to lie to God to make themselves look more generous, selfless, or committed than they were. However, God knew their hearts, and they faced his judgment. You cannot cheat in God’s presence.
On the flip side, God rewards our true devotion to him, no matter how small it might seem in our daily lives. For example, when Jesus saw a poor widow drop two small coins in the Temple offering in Mark 12:42-44, he praises her commitment, even though it seemed small compared to others. She was fully devoted in her heart to God, and gave him everything she had. This is the type of devotion God wants in our relationships with him. He wants us to be committed in our hearts and our actions entirely to him. We will be rewarded for being fully devoted to him with eternal life in his presence, free of pain, suffering, and death.
God knows our hearts and where our devotion really lies. He wants us to be fully devoted to him. This doesn’t mean that we will not slip up and do something selfish, or attempt to make ourselves look better than we are, or make a poor decision at times. However, our hearts are his, and when we recognize where we have gone astray, we come back to him in humility and repentance, not arrogance and self-reliance. Can you say that your heart is fully devoted to God? If God examined your motives for the way that you live your life and interact with others, would they be in line with his character, love, and humility? It is vital that you consider these things now and not when you are standing before him one day, giving an account for your life. Where does your heart, your motivation, and your values lie, in Jesus or the world? Are you desiring a walk with God or glory for yourself?
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