Sincerity

Matthew 15:7-9

 "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 8  “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." (NIV)

The words sincere and sincerity kept arising in my heart this morning during a time of prayer. I had to ask myself, "Am I truly sincere in my approach to God whether I am in a public setting or in my private time with God?" The Prophet Isaiah spoke in unflattering terms about a group of people (The Spirit called them hypocrites or stage actors) when he spoke about this group of individuals. They were able to speak an abundance of words but their hearts were not connected with the words that were being expressed. I can only assume they knew the "right words" to say and even the appropriate way that these words should be spoken. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING MISSING. The words were coming through their lips but their heart was not connected with the words that were being spoken.

How often does the modern day church express the right words, the right phrases, the right songs and yes, even the right message but our heart has become dis-connected from what is being spoken? Our worship and praise to God becomes captured in the prison of the 3 Spiritual R's. The 3 Spiritual R's are "ruts, rituals, and routines." These 3 R's lead us to worship from memory and recitation rather than passion and fervor. We can read the words out of the hymnal, we can read the words off the screens that are provided to us and some of us can even sing the songs from our ability to remember them so we just recite the words routinely week after week. 

But I must remind you that God is looking to hear from our heart and not just our mouth. I can only hear what you audibly say but God is able to hear what your (mine) heart is saying. What will we do with this challenging scripture in today's post? How will we respond to God? Does it matter how we respond to God or have we prepared our list of reasons/excuses that we trust God will accept as the reason that our worship/praise is "flat or empty" today? Do you remember when you had failed to do your homework for school and you went to class with your excuse in your mind and you were prepared to share that with your teacher? Have we treated God in the same manner that we treated our teacher in school? I believe many of these questions including the list of excuses can be handled through the single word "sincerity." We need to approach God with a sincere heart that is full of thankfulness and gratitude. I BELIEVE THAT GOD IS WAITING TO HEAR FROM OUR HEARTS TODAY!!!