THE WORD
“All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice,” Proverbs 21:2,3 NRSV.
REFLECTIONS
In and of itself, our worship is meaningless. Without an acceptable heart, our worship will be judged by God to be unacceptable. Therefore, the reasons for doing something are more important than what is being done. Yet Proverbs reminds us that what is done is still very important, for example, doing “righteousness and justice.”
But let us not limit our conversation to matters of worship. Nothing is beyond being scrutinized by God who “weighs the heart.” Consequently, our motivations, our desires, our passions are being observed, reviewed, and evaluated by God. Unlike the video replay officials, God's vision is not confined to what has happened, what we've done, as God asks us “Why?” Obviously we tend to act before we think. Most times, this tendency does not produce ill effects. On some rare occasions however, our actions and their unintended consequences are subject to divine review. As I reminded my sons when they were younger, when no one sees what you're doing, God knows. That's not to make God into the watch dog, up-to-no-good boogey man. Rather as the Psalmist offers, “Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely,” (Psalm 139:4 NRSV).
God not only “weighs the heart” but also will “repay to all according to their work,” (Psalm 62:12 NRSV). Therefore, prudence and wisdom would suggest strongly that it would be worth our time and effort to make sure that what we do is right and good and just. And that we do it with compassion and not obligation – that we “try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:10 NRSV).
As I shared with the folks at last night's study, God is not playing “hide-and-go-seek” with those who seek God's presence. After all, “the Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth,” (Psalm 145:18 NRSV). As we think about our relationship with God, we must remember that divine judgment is not merely an after-death experience. God's weighing of our hearts takes place here and now. So if we're not where we need to be, we have the opportunity to repent and change. As long as we share the gift of the breath of life, we still can do what we deem to be right and find it to pleasing to our God. Join me somewhere on the road to find out.
ANOTHER WORD
“Reason, too late perhaps, may convince you of the folly of misspending time,” George Washington.
“Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool,” Henri J. Nouwen -- from The Way of the Heart.
