We wake up early and go the church on Sunday mornings. We read our Bibles daily, checking off each box on our Read the Bible in a Year plan. We promise to pray for our friends in their times of great need. We donate ten percent of our paychecks as a tithe. And if our churches offer them, we attend Wednesday night services, volunteer on the weekends, and send our kids and youth to every event that’s made available for them.

None of these things—church attendance, daily Bible reading, donating or volunteering—are bad things. In fact, they are excellent ways for Christians to spend their time and resources. But they can become problematic when we start seeing these things as items to check off our spiritual to-do list, as things that all “good Christians” ought to do. When this happens, we begin just going through the motions, living the “good Christian” life without ever actually growing closer to God or maturing in our faith. We may even view ourselves as “superior” believers because we’re doing all the “right things,” when in reality those who are doing less may find themselves closer to God’s heart than we are.

The truth is that living the good Christian life is less about our actions and outward appearances and more about our hearts.