ICS Daily Devotions
Are You Going Through the Motions?
Malachi 1:6-8 (NKJV) “A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honour? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ “You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favourably?” Says the Lord of hosts.
In this passage, God was dealing with the attitudes of the priests and the people who had drifted away from Him.
He started with the priests who ministered in His temple where His presence and His name were exalted among the people. There was a mismatch between their profession of beliefs and their actions. They had forgotten their relationship with God and were despising God’s name. They had also forgotten how to approach God based on His requirements because of His holiness and the sin of men. Having drifted from God, they were just going through the motions of serving Him without any reverence for Him in worship. They were serving at the temple physically, but their hearts were far away from God.
If the hearts of the priests were not dealt with, it would affect the people whom they represented. After dealing with his priests, God went on to deal with the people at large. Similarly, God will deal with all believers today, including the pastor, because God is no respecter of men.
Just like the priests of old, we may slacken in our ways by just going through the liturgy, the order of service, the rituals, and the spiritual disciplines with our hearts far away from God, but if we know how to show honour and respect to our earthly father and employer—our earthly authorities—even though they are imperfect people, shouldn’t God deserve much more?
It is easy to become lukewarm in our walk with the Lord, especially in our spiritual disciplines. Though we are saved by grace and not by works, we should walk closely with God daily and value Him as the top priority in our lives. He is the perfect Father and the Lord of our lives who loves us with unconditional love, and He is asking us for the honour and reverence due to Him.
Sermon Series: Reflections
