I have desired mercy
For I
desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt
offerings.
– Hosea 6.6
Religion has always been part of man’s existence.
The problem with religion is that since religion is practiced by human beings
it can quickly become anthrocentric. It is easy in religion to get our eyes off
what is supposed to be the object of our worship and we look more at how we
match up in our performance of religious rituals. Even devout Jews such as the
Pharisees were told by Jesus that that had made the traditions of men more
important than the worship of God.
That is where unfaithful Judah found themselves.
They were faithfully keeping the sacrificial system. They were offering up
their burnt offerings.
But they were totally missing the point. That
isn’t what God wanted. God desired, as always, wanted a heart change and a
difference in their lives that did not come about with sacrifices and offerings.
God said that what He really wanted was not
sacrifices and offerings and religion. What He really desires is for His people
to show mercy and for them to know Him better.
Sadly we can get caught in the same trap of
religion if we are not careful. We can go to church every time the doors are
open, get baptised, tithe, and everything else and still miss the boat if we
don’t know God and show mercy to others.
Get to know God better. If we do we will learn to
show others mercy. That is much better than all the religion we can muster.
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