IS IT FOR SHOW?
Kimberly Lawrence
Today's Scripture: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6, ESV
Theme: God desires for us to have a loving and faithful relationship with Him more than anything else we might offer.
PEOPLE-PLEASER
If you look up “people-pleaser” in the dictionary, my picture might be next to it! I don’t like to disappoint anyone or say “no” to anything. I’ll wear myself out for friends, family, clients, and co-workers, usually because I care for them deeply but also because it’s my “Martha” nature. There is something in me that also wants to “do” for God – to bring Him something measurable and impressive which proves my devotion. In Hosea’s time, the people of Israel were doing the exact same thing. They were offering sacrifices and going through the motions of worship. But God saw through it!
AUTHENTIC SACRIFICE
On the outside, their behavior looked like faithfulness, but their hearts had drifted. God saw the inconsistencies of their love – “like the morning mist,” here one moment and gone the next. God spoke plainly: “I don’t want your rituals if I don’t have your heart.” God wasn’t after a performance over a relationship then and He isn’t now.
I used to think if I serve more, give more, and do everything right, I’d find His favor. As a recovering “pleaser,” I now understand that God wants all my heart…not what I can produce, prove, or perform. Besides, what can I possibly offer that He hasn’t first provided to me? A faithful relationship matters more to God because it reflects who He is. He is steadfast, committed, and merciful. When I trust and walk with Him consistently (even though not perfectly), I mirror His heart and that is what delights Him.
I read a devotion during Holy Week and the author asked, “Where are you ‘Axe-spraying’ your life?” I quickly understood his reference! When my son was a middle schooler, you could smell him coming long before you saw him! (Axe was the cologne-deodorant of choice for teens at that time.) What was seen (or smelled) on the outside wasn’t necessarily indicative of what was on the inside. My religious activity (attendance, giving, serving) is nothing if my inward appearance needs a shower!
Make It Personal: Consider today where you might be offering God sacrifices of effort, routine, and obligation instead of cultivating a real relationship with Him. Don’t be afraid to pray and ask God to reveal these areas to you. I must constantly remind myself that it’s not about earning His love, because I never could. It’s about living in it. Now, instead of consuming myself with things I should be “doing” for Him, I desire to simply be in His presence.
Pray: Lord, reveal and strip away anything in my life that’s just about show! I don’t want to offer You empty routines. I want to know You deeply. Teach me what it means to love You with consistency and sincerity. Help me choose a relationship with You over performance and Your presence over my attempts at perfection. Amen.
Read: Luke 10:38-42; Ecclesiastes 5:1; Matthew 9:13
Weekly Memory Verse: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,” Deuteronomy 10:12, ESV