Careful Worship

There have been posts here in the past that have focused on the right kind of attitude to have when coming to church. The following verse continues on that same theme.

Ecclesiastes 5:1
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

In our fast-paced day and age, it is common to kind of squeeze church into our schedules. Many times, right up to when the service begins and even continuing through the service, we are thinking and talking about things completely distracting or even contrary to our God—the cares of this world.

This verse warns against such a flippant attitude. It actually calls such an attitude evil ("for they consider not that they do evil"). Wow! It is kind of humbling to imagine that we may be sinning in church more than we even realize. How often do we take the time to examine our hearts before worshipping at church? How common is it for us to ask God to direct our thoughts and to change us as a result of what we learn from His Word? Do we guard our actions in such a way? Is that our primary focus?

Unfortunately, we often "give the sacrifice of fools." That is, we go through the motions, offering lip-service to God, but with no real focus, no real desire. That kind of flippant attitude toward worship is something that God hates. It is disrespectful to Him, and it is unconcerned with the wonderful opportunity that God has given to worship Him because of what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross in our behalf.

We need to be very careful in the way we approach worship. And if we will obey God in this way, He will make our worship something of immense profit. He will fill our hearts with joy when we take time to commune with Him—on His terms, and in His ways. May we consider what God’s Word has to say concerning this matter, even as we prepare ourselves for this coming Sunday.