Verse of the Week...

11 "The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?

 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

--Isaiah 1:11-14

In most churches today, and in most Christian circles, doing good is the best thing anyone can do; following God’s guidelines, as offered in the Bible, is considered life’s most significant endeavor, and I would agree…to a point.

One widely agreed upon tenet is the act of giving, and particularly giving money to a church. In fact, the sermon I heard last Sunday was about tithing, an admittedly important topic to hit from the pulpit. The preacher, like none other I’ve ever witnessed, called the congregation to the carpet for its measly financial offerings. He asked, in so many words, ‘Are you tipping God, or tithing to Him?’ A good question no doubt.

Check out the verses above. It’s a quote, delivered through the lips of the prophet Isaiah, from the mouth of God. Apparently He was upset with His people. But why? At first glance, they were doing exactly what He commanded them to do: sacrificing their choicest animals, meeting in the Temple courts, honoring the Sabbath, participating in New Moon festivals. At first glance, they were steadfastly obedient. So what was with God’s displeasure? He commanded, they obeyed. What gives?

To put it simply, obedience, true obedience (obedience that pleases God), is a matter of the heart, not the head. Let me explain. God’s people knew exactly what He wanted them to do. The details of what to sacrifice and when, those were clearly recognized…and performed. But their heart wasn't in it. And it’s often the same today, is it not? Go to church on Sunday. Maybe even Wednesday. Read your Bible daily for 20 minutes…30 minutes if you really want to stand out. Give to the poor. Tithe your money. We’ve got it down, just like the ancient Israelites. But I ask you, as I examine myself, is God pleased with your offerings? Does He delight in your good deeds? I know we’d like to think so. After all, at least we’re doing something!

The truth is, God just may be tired of us, weary of our empty(?) rituals and offerings. See, to God, the aroma of our deeds, even the exact things He commands, can become odious depending on how or why we do them. If we ‘obey’ out of obligation, out of guilt, with an unengaged, resistant heart, we stir His disdain. And we don’t actually obey whatsoever. Remember, God detests the whitewashed tomb that can so easily be our life. Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for those who actually did the most ‘godly’ things. ‘These people honor me with their lips…but their HEARTS are far from me.’ See? Heart, not head. Relationship, not religion. There’s such a profound difference.

So, to the mirror I go. Do I do right? Do I perform with purpose? Honestly, and sadly, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I'm compelled to go to church because of what others might think if I skip it. Sometimes I give because I know I should. Sometimes I do ‘good’ with no purity at all. And what does God think? Don’t do it. Stay home. Put your checkbook away. I don’t want your ‘offerings.’  Harsh? Maybe. But to God, the motive matters that much.

God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful, as in, from the heart. I believe the opposite is true: God loathes a cheerless one. And have you ever thought about why? If we do this thing or that, and we do so out of ritual, with no heart, we dishonor Him. Basically, if we’re strong-armed into action, not compelled by love, we make Him, and a relationship with Him, appear unattractive, like He’s nothing but a distant taskmaster. Not the Lover of our souls who longs for our intimacy.

Think of your relationship with someone you love. Do you do kind things for them because you’re supposed to? Do you write them a sweet little note only because you ought? And if you did, what would that say about your relationship? About him or her? No, the manifestations of love flow freely from the heart, making their object feel prized, treasured like no other.  So it is, or is meant to be, with our good deeds, our offerings to the Creator of the universe.

Let’s tie this up.

‘If you love me, you will obey my commands.’ --John 14:15

Only if we truly love, will we truly obey.

The heart of the matter: it’s a matter of the heart.

Grace to you, to love Him, and only then obey,

Voice of another

Verse of the Week...

‘…Hate what is evil...’            -Romans 12:9

‘…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…’

-Hebrews 12:1

Here’s another opportunity for self-examination, which, if done with honesty and proper motivation, is the backbone of sanctification (making oneself virtuous or chaste, and thus set apart). And don’t doubt it for a second, God wants us to be different. Our overarching purpose is to point to Him (through our differences), to His praise.

Have you ever thought about your personal view of evil? Generally speaking, most would say it’s ‘bad,’ even ‘ugly.’ But have you ever sat down and truly analyzed your heart, and how it handles evil? Do you despise and detest it? Are you abhorred by it? Or, as I would propose is more likely the case (it probably is for me), would your approach to it be better characterized as ‘largely indifferent,’ or ‘mildly put off'? Though it may not appear at first glance to matter all that much, what or how we think of evil has major repercussions on how differently we live this life and if we honor God.

Before going any further, let’s at least loosely define what ‘evil’ is. Romans 12:9 infers that it’s the opposite of good. That’s close. However, the best (simplest) way to define evil is, ‘that which is counter to God.’ This is admittedly a broad description, but it needs to be. Certainly evil has its nuances, it can show itself in varied forms, but its crucial characteristic is its polar opposition to the Almighty God. It’s safe to say that’s all we really need to know about it. Oh, but evil is powerful, much more so than you and me left to ourselves (which, thank God we’re not). After all, who is evil’s chief executer but Satan himself. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Given this, and given the definition above (that it's inherently counter to God), our approach and/or response to it should be clear: resist it, run from it, treat it like the plague. Because to our soul, that’s exactly what it is.

Back to Romans 12:9. Paul doesn’t mince words. ‘HATE what is evil…’ Growing up reading this, I always thought, Isn’t ‘hate’ evil in itself? Simply, nope, it’s not. You’ve heard of righteous anger (think Jesus overturning the money-changing tables in the Temple), when it comes to evil, get used to the idea of righteous hate. Despise evil. Detest it. Abhor it. Why such a strong response? Again, it wreaks havoc on our soul, and more, that’s how God Himself sees it and deals with it. He is holy, pristine, perfectly pure; due to His nature, He literally cannot be around it or look upon it (two quick examples: flinging Lucifer and his fellow tainted angels from His presence; turning the sky dark when Jesus actually became our sin while on the cross).

Paul was on the same page with God. We would do well to be the same. Hate that which is evil—not the person, if that’s where it’s found, but the very evil itself. This sounds a bit wild, but if we were to grow in our hatred of evil, we would grow in our desire to abstain from it. Truly, then, the fuel of sanctification is, in part, the outright repugnance of evil. It at least contributes to the motivation to ‘throw off that which hinders, the sin that so easily entangles.’ If it’s so repulsive, cast it off, get rid of it, get away from it, run away from it, and fast.

Would you examine your heart with me on this? Do you loathe evil? Or do merely dislike it? It matters. And what do we do if evil is, on occasion, a friend? Pray. Pray that God would give you a heart like His, one that cannot stand even a whiff of its stench. And plead with the Holy Spirit to precisely align your affections with your Maker’s.

There is a dance being done here. As our disdain strengthens for that which is dark, we become, more and more, lovers of the Light. But more on that later…

Grace to you, to see evil for the God-defaming abomination it is…and stiff-arm it,

Voice of another