“In Spirit and In Truth- The Heart of Worship“
Read Matthew 15:1-9
“’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” Matthew 15:8
Since the beginning of time, there have been many different expressions of worship. Some groups of people employ certain instruments, others opt for less demonstrative tones. Regardless of the method, the intent remains the same- to esteem the Lord. This is a principle that must be reiterated so that we never lose sight of the ‘who’ behind worship.
In chapter 15 of the book of Matthew, Jesus calls out the Pharisees for their hypocritical worship. In their eyes, they thought that by keeping the law they were worshipping God. The Pharisees were so intent on maintaining traditions and customs that they accused the disciples of being in the wrong. However ironically, Jesus points out that it was the Pharisees who were in the wrong because their outward demonstration of worship lacked the right inward posture. Neglecting to acknowledge the importance of having the right heart evidently leads to a pattern of self-righteousness and hypocrisy.
Worship reveals the condition of your heart, and the condition of your heart in turn produces your worship. Since worship is an all-encompassing lifestyle, the Pharisees collectively worshipped by holding fast to cultural customs. Yet, this worship was deemed vain because they completely missed the mark. The Pharisees failed to see how true worship is not about lip service. They thought loyalty to the law was more important than their loyalty to following the teachings of Jesus. Jesus was not concerned with excluding or demonizing people because of their upbringing or ‘unclean’ habits. Instead, Jesus continually emphasized the importance of ‘loving one another’. True worship then, will be a by-product of the right heart posture that truly reflects who Jesus is. And true worship will never contradict the Word of God.
Moreover, because the Pharisees lacked the right understanding of worship, they did not have the right expression of worship. In other words, you can’t have the right output if you do not have the right input. What the Pharisees so fervently maintained was essentially hypocrisy. Despite the fact that they were honoring what was taught to them by their elders, they were honoring these customs in the place of Jesus. Since Jesus is the object of our worship, nothing can take precedence over our estimation of HIM. Jesus has, is, and always must be the source of our worship, rather than any traditions imposed by human beings who will never be His equal.
Our aim should be to reserve a special place for Jesus in our lives. We cannot be more loyal to anything or anyone else.
Reflection:
Do you ever find yourself worshipping in vain? How can you be intentional about avoiding lip service?
Prayer
Father God, I thank You for Jesus. He is the Name above all Names, and I will not worship anything or anyone in His place. May my worship never be in vain, Lord. May I honor You with my heart and my mouth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Written by Deborah Nimoh
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