Have you ever found yourself just going through the motions in something? It could be a lot of things. Something like at work, at the gym, marriage, raising your family, or even in your worship of God. It’s never about a lack of effort. Instead, the problem is an issue of our heart. This is where Israel was at the time that the prophet Malachi wrote. God is charging Israel with some serious “crimes against Him.” In Malachi 1:7-8 it says, “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 favorably? Says the Lord of hosts.” In the opening of the chapter, God professed His love for His children. However, He is saying that they are not loving Him back. Again, it’s not just about the actions of Israel; it was primarily about their heart. They certainly weren’t even giving maximum effort or even trying to bring proper sacrifices to the Lord. The people were trying to play the victim, and therefore God calls them on it. He tells them, if you think you are right, then take what you have been bringing to me, and go give it to your governor. Of course, they wouldn’t even think of doing something like that. They knew they were wrong, they just didn’t want to admit it. Which brings me to a question, are we willing to admit it when we are wrong? Whether it is in our relationships with others or our relationship with God, will we admit that sometimes we are just going through the motions?
God had said through the prophet Isaiah years earlier had said the same thing about Israel. Isaiah 29:13 says, “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me.” Centuries later, Jesus would say that same thing of the Pharisees and the nation of Israel in His day. The problem in Jesus’ day was the same problem in Isaiah and Malachi’s day; the people didn’t love God the way they were called to. You could say, they did just the bare minimum that they thought they could get by with. Again, have we ever been guilty of this? When we find ourselves just going through the motions of praying, Bible reading, serving, and other religious activities, it should clue us in that our love for God is growing cold. We need to take time to step back and find out when and where it started happening. Then, we need to ask God for His help. I will use a marriage that is failing as an example. There are times when a couple goes to a counselor and they say that they want a divorce. When the counselor asks, why do you want a divorce, one of the most often repeated lines is, “I just don’t love them anymore” or “we just fell out of love.” The reality of this situation isn’t that people fall out of love, it is that they stopped trying to love the way they are supposed to. Listen, I’m not saying the marriage is easy. I believe that having a successful marriage is the hardest job on the planet. However, it is also one of the most rewarding relationships that a man and woman can ever have. It is something worth fighting for. In the same way, we don’t just wake up one day and start going through the motions with our walk with God if we are truly loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s not about your actions, it’s about your heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a heart check-up. Remember the blessings, favor, and grace God has given you. Then see if it feels like a burden to love God. When we remember all that God has done for us, and how He has blessed us even when we didn’t deserve it; it suddenly becomes much easier to life a life of praise and gratitude.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin