I love knowing the right people for specific tasks. It brings me comfort to know that when I need a quality, affordable handyman, a windshield replaced, or my A/C unit fixed, I know a guy.
Each one would be responsive if I called, but we wouldn't talk about hobbies or exchange family updates. It's a business call. I have work that needs done, and they need to work. It's mutually beneficial.
However, there are others I call just to catch up on personal events. I want to share an unexpected blessing or ask for counsel. With that group, I would absolutely talk about hobbies, family updates and just about anything else. In truth, that's exactly how those relationships continue to grow. Familiarity strengthens relational health, builds trust and increases intimacy.
The problem arises when the two categories are conflated. It's offensive when someone who fails to invest in a personal relationship leverages it for "business purposes." It's the brother-in-law who only calls when he needs to borrow your truck, or the grandchild you haven't heard from in years who wants money. In a healthy personal relationship, you'd be offended if they didn't ask. In an unhealthy one, you'd be offended if they did.
The offense is obvious when you're the one being taken advantage of, yet people are blind to the fact that they do the same to God. Some don't seek Him, don't make His people a priority and reading His Word is out of the question. Yet the same people are amazed (and offended!) that God did not intervene to save them from their hardship. If they had read the Bible, they would know that God was clear on that point.
We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him. (Jn. 9:31)
Sadly, some Christians treat their relationship with God like a useful number in their contacts. They may be a family member, but they talk to Him only in times of difficulty or to make a special request. When it comes to God, it's a "don't call me, I'll call you" situation, but He'll have none of that!
To be clear, God never condemns a sinner who cries out to Him in faith. No promise has ever been truer or sweeter than "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:9). Never hesitate to go to the Lord as the tax collector did in Luke 18:13, who pleaded, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"
That's different than treating God like a vendor or a crisis manager. He isn't eager to just "get your business." He's the Almighty God who has adopted you as His child. He wants and expects you to maintain a relationship with Him. Make it a habit to keep an ongoing conversation with God. Thank Him continually for His blessings. Repent frequently, and yes, communicate your needs to Him without hesitation. Those are the marks of a healthy relationship, like those in John 15:7, which says, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Share all your moments with God, and He will share abundantly with you. Infinitely better than being able to say, "I know a guy," is confidently saying, "I know a God."