Read Zachariah Chapter 7
What If I’ve Been Doing This Wrong For 55 Years?
Some men came to Zechariah on behalf of the people in Bethel in order to seek the favor of the Lord. They asked if they should continue to carry out their spiritual practices of the Lord as they have done in the past years?
The Lord responded by confronting them, saying:
For over 70 years, you have been practicing all the spiritual rituals I have asked of you. The only problem is, you don’t do it for me. You do it for your own recognition. Then God taught them a history lesson saying, remember what the former generation did? Remember how the prophets confronted them when they were prospering? Remember how I said their hearts were in the wrong place? Remember what I asked them to do? Verse 9-10: “Dispense true Justice, and practice Kindness and Compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the Widow or the Orphan, the Stranger or the Poor; and do not devise evil in your heart against one another.” God said they did not pay attention because they were stubborn and their hearts were hard. As a result they faced my wrath and now the Land sets in desolation.
Does this describe us? What a scary thought to think that someone has known the Lord all their lives and possibly have been carrying out all their spiritual duties of going to church, praying at meals, tithing, teaching Sunday school, but all this time their hearts have been hardened to the truth of loving God and loving others. What a scary thought to think that I have lived 55 years as a Christian but in reality what if my heart has been hardened towards God. What if my Christianity has just been a show for others to see and admire and even praise me for how I have fulfilled my spiritual duties. What if I just spent 55 years making my Christianity all about me and not about God and others. Even more sad, I can recognize the hypocrisy really well in others, but am I blind to my own hypocrisy? God, break me of my hypocrisy so that I follow you faithfully by loving YOU with all my heart, and loving OTHERS with True Justice, Kindness, and Compassion.
