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when you think religiosity is the goal





Isaiah 58:2-8

 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 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? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.



The people of God were very religious. They wonder why God has not responded to their incredible worship services and fasting. God responds through the prophet Isaiah when he reminds them that all of the religious ceremonies in the world won't amount to a hill of beans if they come to church and do religious stuff but fail to live with compassion for one another and the poor. These people wanted to categorize their lives into "church stuff" and then "life". As long as God was acknowledged in worship....as long as they went through the rituals, then they could do life any way they wanted. Sound familiar? God points out to the people who want to hear from Him-all of life is worship! What good is "fasting" if you then go out and "exploit your workers" and "strike each other with wicked fists"? How can you possibly think you can go to church and learn about the compassion of God and then check out to live with complete indifference to the poor and the hungry? You have missed the point when you think religiosity is the goal!


When most of us think of honoring God (worship), we think of prayers, sermons, songs, Holy Communion, and fasting. God's broader definition is that we honor Him with all of our lives....especially in the way we have compassion for one another and for those in need. Honoring God is more than one hour on Sunday. We really begin to experience the power and presence of God when we take our faith outdoors! We really begin to feel the "glory of the Lord" when we become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world......sharing food with the hungry and addressing the poor. I begin to really experience what a relationship with Jesus is all about when those in need are not "the problem" but my "own flesh and blood". When we are living what it means to honor God, then the one hour on Sunday will take on new meaning and depth we never thought possible. Anything short of that will leave us feeling like we missed something important!

Thanks to Pastor Jerry Sweat of Beach United Methodist Church.

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