“What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
(Jeremiah 6:20–21, ESV)
I believe that we all have done things ritualistically just because they are the things you do. We attend an organization meeting where the speaker says things which prompt the audience to applaud. It seems as if the applause becomes just the thing to do whether we agree or disagree with the presenter. Certain things can become ritual without heart.
I have been in liturgical type churches, not that liturgy is bad in and of itself. In fact all churches, liturgical and not so seem to develop routines in their worship times. Yet often the routine of the service can lose the heart of worship. We have our time of singing, our time of pastoral prayer, the reading of the Scripture, the offering, and the sermon, the benediction, partaking of communion, and other elements. But what is the sense if people are distant in heart, just going through the motions while their minds and actions are far from the Lord? You may think that this is not a problem, but it is.
This was the problem that the nation of Israel had at the time of Jeremiah. They were following the ritual prescribed by the Law. They offered the sacrifices. However, their hearts were far from the Lord. They did not obey strict attention to the moral precepts of the Law. They worshipped idols. They trusted in the works of their own hands and human wisdom. In essence they tried to straddle the fence. On one side were human expediency, idolatry, the ways of the world, and the ways of the flesh. On the other side was religious ritual. The Lord was not pleased with such a hypocritical worship where they substituted ritual for devotion and obedience. As a result, He would bring calamity upon the nation.
There are many religious people today who are struggling in life and do not understand why. Now, while not all struggles are due to the divided heart, many are. Many religious people attend worship services every week, carry large Bibles around, and participate in all the liturgy of the service. They may even sing in the choir, serve in leadership, and etcetera. Yet their hearts are cold and their actions throughout the week are driven by the world system and fleshly desires. Then they wonder why they do not have inner peace.
Let us guard ourselves against worthless ritual. Not casting away our attendance in worship and its ritual elements, but participating with full devotion. Remember that our worship of the Lord is not to be just an hour experience on Sunday morning. It is to be our principle occupation in all of life. In fact, I believe that our worship throughout the week prepares us to worship in our corporate gatherings with a whole heart.
Renewing the Heart 