What the Lord Prefers

 In the Old Covenant God called on His people to make sacrifices. They were to bring gifts to the Tabernacle or Temple and offer them to the Lord in various ways for various reasons. This was their form of worship and for atoning for their sins. It was very important for them to follow God's will in these things. However, there was something that God preferred more than sacrifice.

The Word of God is very clear from the beginning to the end that God is more concerned about how we live than what we say. He is more concerned about our everyday lives than what we do when we go to worship. (Proverbs 21:3) "To do righteousness and justice is preferred by the Lord more than sacrifice." That verse is pretty plain. Let's think about this for a minute.

As believers, we know that worship is very important to God.  We are to set aside the Sabbath Day each week to rest and to worship the Lord with other believers. This shows how much God means to us. Our worship shows the world that God is worthy of our love, time, and offerings. However, sometimes there is a difference between our lives on Sunday and what we do the rest of the week.

If we do not live a righteous life by doing the things that make us right with God and others, we are being hypocritical Christians. If we do not do what brings justice to the people around us, we are not living like Christians, but like unbelievers. Therefore, when we go to worship, God is not pleased. He would prefer that we live out righteousness and justice first, and then follow it up with worship. I pray that we will all see this truth and apply it to our lives.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 22-25.