Seven Hindrances to Piety

 Lewis Bayly was a Scotsman educated at Oxford and the vicar of Evesham, Worcestershire.  It is believed that in 1604 this staunch puritan became the rector of St. Matthew’s Church in London.   Lewis was the Chaplain to Henry Frederick the Prince of Wales and to King James I who would go on to appoint him the Bishop of Bangor.  But Lewis is most famous for his short book The Practice of Piety.[1]  I highly recommend this insightful work for the author’s wisdom regarding suffering and the importance of piety.

Meditation
Job 4:6—Isn’t your piety your confidence, and the integrity of your life your hope?
 
Job suffered a series of calamities and bemoaned his fate to his three friends who came to visit him in his agony.  His friend Eliphaz weighed in on his affliction by citing Job’s piety as his hope.   His observation, uttered before Job claimed moral innocence, reveals the quality of Job’s character. 

In our modern era, piety is sometimes viewed as a hypocritical concern with virtue or a false sincerity with religious motives.  But, throughout most of mankind’s history, to be pious was to be God-fearing and zealous to live an upright, moral life.   This is reflected with conviction by Bayly who shares with us seven hindrances to a sinner from practicing piety:
1.  “An ignorant mistaking of the true meaning of certain places of the holy Scriptures, and some other chief grounds of Christian religion.” An immature understanding of Scriptural doctrines leads to foolish living.
2.  The evil example of successful people.
3.  The fact that those who sin seem to escape punishment.
4.  Presumption of God’s mercy.
5.  Evil company who deter a sinner from repenting by their ungodly influence.
6.  A conceited fear that practicing a pious lifestyle will lead to misery.  
7.  The hope of long life so that a person has time to amend his ways in the end.[2]

Do you know someone struggling to live a holy life? To understand what might be causing the hesitancy to repent arms us to pray and speak into a person’s life more effectively.  A virtuous life honors God and is a crown of blessing.  Hold the high ground!  
 
Inspiration
Do you think, when you have served Satan with your prime years, to satisfy God with your senility?—Lewis Bayly in The Practice of Piety
 
©2019 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)
 

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Bayly
[2]Lewis Bayly in The Practice of Piety, pp. 76-88.