[Here’s another bulletin article from a few years ago. Love to hear your thoughts on the subject…]

We can learn a lot by looking at worship in the Old Testament, especially those passages in which God’s prophets told the people what they were doing wrong. Since we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past, we do well to find out what mistakes were made.

One of the biggest mistakes made by God’s people was the mistake of ritualistic religion. That is, they thought that religion was made up of doing certain things during a time of worship. God tried to tell them that more than “religiosity,” he wanted a people that dedicated themselves to doing good. A good example is this passage from Isaiah 1:

11 “The multitude of your sacrifices — what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations — I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

It’s not that God was against sacrifices and such. he merely wanted the people to realize that our religious acts must be accompanied by compassion toward our fellow man.

We see in the New Testament that things haven’t changed. Look at what the Hebrew writer says in Hebrews 13:16: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Our good deeds toward others are “sacrifices” that we offer to God. Remember James’ words in James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Paul said, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10)

When people come to us looking for help, we can often see that as a distraction from the “true work of the church.” Yet nothing could be further from the truth. We are to be about helping people. We should be grateful when people present us with an opportunity to help. Jesus, in his ministry, spent much time helping people. Remember how Peter, when preaching to Cornelius, described Jesus’ ministry: “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38) Jesus went about doing good and expects the same from his followers. Remember how he described Judgment Day in Matthew 25. He doesn’t speak of doctrinal correctness or church attendance. He speaks of helping those in need. And he says, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

In fact, Paul says that God’s plan for us is that we do good. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul writes: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Paul told Timothy what to teach the rich people: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (I Timothy 6:18)

We, as Christians, are supposed to be helping people. It’s what we were made for. It’s what Jesus modeled for us and what he expects of us. Every time that someone presents us with an opportunity to help, we should be grateful. Otherwise we would have to go out looking for those who need our help.

For some, it’s second nature. They are constantly aware of people who have needs and are constantly meeting needs. For others of us, we need to depend more on God and his Holy Spirit to help us develop a heart of compassion for our fellow man.

It’s not a small thing. It’s central to who we are as Christians. It’s a critical part of our worship of God. May God help us do it better.