I have been reviewing my Western Civilization textbook in preparation for a CLEP test and have come across something that made me stop and consider the state of my heart - and not only mine, but that of many in the Christian Church. I just finished reading a section on the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah entitled, "The Prophetic Movement" and I had to stop reading so I could put down the thoughts that have come to mind.
Regarding the Biblical books of the prophets I have, for several years, found it sad that so many in the Church see only condemnation and judgment in these Old Testament texts, completely missing the crux of God's message - a message that is not only a call to holiness, but is also a call to accept relationship with a loving God, then to pass that love on to others through acts of social kindnesses and justice. A call to love our brother as we love ourselves.
It is disturbing to me that so many in the Church miss this point, but that authors of a secular text, though questioning the divine authorship of the words, comprehend exactly the message that God gave through the prophets:
"Speaking on behalf of the downtrodden with words they believed Yahweh had given to them, these social critics [the prophets] condemned the religious and moral corruption of landowners and kings. They linked the worship of Yahweh (and only Yahweh) to a social ideal of community, in which exploitation of the poor was seen as a sin against Yahweh's plan for humanity.
... prophets... continued to denounce the economic inequalities of Israel and Judah and to call for the worship of only Yahweh. They also began to articulate a vision of religion as a heartfelt spiritual practice resulting in social action, rather than a matter of placating the gods through ritual. In a revolutionary statement, Micah presented Yahweh as rejecting typical religious worship:
'With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?...
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?'"*
The authors of this book understand that the message God sent through the prophets was this: with Him it is always a matter of the heart. He is not interested in formulas, rituals, or traditions. He is interested in relationship with us. If ritual and tradition help us focus our attention on Him, leading to deeper relationship with Him and greater love for our fellow man, then that is a good thing. However, if we go through motions of worship, but have no love for humanity, no compulsion to serve others in some manner, no sympathy for those less fortunate than ourselves, our worship becomes mere formality, regardless of the form it takes.
We can stand in church singing out hymns and worship choruses with every fiber of our being, hands raised in apparent worship of our God.
We can kneel and make the sign of the cross, or recite prayers written by saints of old.
We can take communion in whatever form our chosen place of worship offers the sacrament.
We can read our Bibles.
We can have intellectual and heartfelt conversations about Biblical truths and doctrinal issues.
But if we are not compelled by the love of Christ to do something that is of benefit to other human beings, of what good are these things? If our hearts are not changed by the love of Christ, are these truly forms of worship?
Paul said:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love,
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith,
so as to remove mountains,
but have not love,
I am nothing.
If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver up my body to be burned,
but have not love,
I gain nothing."
What does God require? He requires our hearts. This is the message of the prophets.
Is my heart available?
Is yours?
*quote from: Levack, Brian, Edward Muir, Meredith Veldman, The West Encounters & Transformations, 3rd Ed, Longman 2011, pp 70-71
