Singing is the icing on the cake. It’s the gravy on the biscuit. It's good, but by itself, it’s not much. What is the main part of the worship God wants from us?
Worship in ancient Israel was much more than singing. It included the sacrificial system, all of those different kinds of offerings they could bring. It also included the various festivals they were told to keep. They had quite a full calendar, with a big feast every few months and smaller ones monthly. They also fasted as an act of piety in addition to the required fasts. Worship was almost a full time job for them.
How did God view their worship?
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24)
He seemed less than impressed with their festivals and offerings. What about the fasting?
“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:5-6)
What’s going on here? What is this about “justice” and “breaking every yoke”?
God had told Israel how to treat the poor. He’d instructed them to administer justice impartially. They weren’t doing it. They thought they were pleasing God by bringing their sacrifices, engaging in the festivals, and playing their music, but God didn’t care about all of that because they were not living the way he wanted them to. So the Lord told them explicitly,
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).
There is a Proverb that also makes it clear:
“To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (21:3)
They had all of this in the scriptures, but in Jesus’ day, there were still people who would “devour widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40) but thought they were holy because they tithed down to their garden herbs (Matt 23:23). Jesus wasn’t impressed.
What does this mean for us? God isn’t interested in rituals, songs, or any other kind of worship until we’re living our lives his way. Worship at its core is responding to who God is and what he has done. We do that first and most importantly in how we live our lives:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1).
We like to sing. And we like to think that our singing is very important. That’s why we sing things like
I've got one response
I've got just one move
With my arm stretched wide
I will worship You1
That is not our only move. If you want to express your gratitude to God, tell the truth even when it hurts. Help the poor. Forgive people when they sin against you. Speak up for the powerless. These things please God far more than any song we could ever sing, and then God will smile on us.
Think on the lyrics of another song:
Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight2
Let our songs be the icing on top of lives that reflect the holiness, justice, and grace of our God and Savior. Then he will accept our songs with pleasure.
1 Name withheld to protect the guilty
2 “Lifesong” written by John Mark Hall
Image via Unsplash
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