Respect for God

Introduction

To be casual about things is to no longer have an appreciation for what is significant. We are casual about much of life. We are casual about jobs, food, cars we drive and events. It is the rare person who can approach life with an awareness of the significant. It is the rare person who can eat the same food day after day with true thankfulness. It is far easier to fall into a casual mentality about life than it is to be alert and aware of the beauty of life around you. For most people life can be compared to a jack in the box. Turn the handle—the music plays and it doesn’t take long before at just the right note the box opens and the character inside pops out. Adults play with that toy and become bored quickly. Why? We know the music. It is predictable. But watch a child with the same toy. What happens? Why does a child laugh over and over again at the same toy? Because they are still learning about predictability. They haven’t gotten bored yet. A small child can play “peek-a-boo” much longer than the adult. Why? Because life is being lived in the moment. Life is being lived with learning in mind.

But we adults. We get casual about things. We like boring because when boring doesn’t happen we get mad and frustrated. Drive the same way to work every day but let an accident happen and we are frustrated. We are going to be late. We are trapped on interstate going nowhere quickly. At that moment we long for uneventful. And then we complain about the uneventful and then want it when it is taken away. We like spontaneity if we can plan it. But to become casual about life and things means that we take them for granted. It means that we no longer think about people and things with honor and respect.

What about today? How did you approach our time together this morning? Casually? Routinely? Insignificantly? Did you come expecting to meet the Lord? Did you come today recognizing the holiness of God and your own sin in his presence? Did you come today with respect and honor? In the presence of God our hearts are bowed. We are in awe of his greatness and his majesty. Let’s praise him as the Lord of lords.

Malachi’s Passion

The writing known as Malachi was written around 420 B.C. Israel has been back from exile for about 100 years. The temple was rebuilt. Sacrifice began again. But the promise of God to prosper his people has not occurred. Life has gone on, but the prosperity which they believed belonged to them has given way to drought, poor crops, and hostile neighbors. Does God really love Israel? Malachi is written to affirm God’s love for Israel. But it is also written to challenge Israel’s thinking about their relationship with God. Their relationship with God has grown cold and indifferent. There is no passion for who God is and this lack of passion is being revealed in their worship, their marriages, and their giving.

In Malachi 1:1-5, God affirms his love for Israel. He does so by reminding them about their brother Esau. Israel came from the line of Jacob. From Jacob’s brother, Esau, came the people of Edom. The people of Edom had never prospered like the people of Israel. God’s favor had been seen with Israel even though Edom was from the same family. This was God’s proof that he loved Israel. Such proof was not to be overlooked. But God’s love had been ignored and, in fact, it had been treated shabbily.

Look at verse 6. “A son honors his father.” The word for honor depends upon the context for its meaning. The word has a literal meaning “heavy.” When a son honors his father he is acknowledging the weight or heaviness of the father. In other words, the son recognizes the importance and authority of his father. The son honors and respects the father. But there is no respect or honor for the name of God. This charge is brought against the priests. The hearts of Israel’s religious leaders were lacking in respect and honor for God.

They neither feared him nor respected him. God was something one offered sacrifices to, but not anything which demanded honor. In essence they underestimated the power and presence of God. God wasn’t important. He was nothing to have any emotion about. As a result, the sacrificial worship was routine and boring. There was no life or passion in what they were doing in the temple. Sacrifices were offered with no regard for the law or the requirements of God. If there is no respect for God, then there will be no respect for his law. As a result the religious leaders approach God in a simplistic, complacent way. There is no passion in their worship.

Notice in verse 8, the religious leaders allow blind, crippled, or diseased animals to be used for the sacrifice. God offers this bit of wisdom. Bring less than the best to the Persian governor and see if he will accept it. If he will not accept it what makes you think I will. God goes on to say in verse 11 that although Israel doesn’t appreciate who they worship others do and will. In verses 12-14, God summarizes the attitudes and hearts of the priests and people. They treat that which is to be considered holy as common. They treat God and the animals to be sacrificed as of no consequence as if none of it really mattered. But God reminds them that he is a great king and his name is to be respected among the nations.

Casualness

We live in a casual world. Respect for those who are above us has been redefined. We approach much of life in a casual way. That isn’t so bad. Some things needed to be brought down a bit. But on the way to the casualness of our world, it is possible to lose sight of things that are extraordinary and profound. God’s problem with the religious leaders was their willingness to look at everything from a casual standpoint. Sacrifice ended up just being another event. There was nothing special about it because there was nothing special in their hearts about God.

Have we become too casual about God? Israel took that which was holy and made it common. Have we done that in our hearts? Is coming to assembly just another event? Do we understand that we are in the presence of God and do we appreciate what that means? Have we forgotten the greatness of God? Do we realize that we are in the presence of the one who created the world and took care of our sin? Do we realize the significance of God’s majesty or have we come here with casual hearts? Ravi Zacharias wrote: “When man is bored with God even heaven does not have a better alternative.” How can we tell if we are too casual about God?

You know your heart is too casual when you stay up late Saturday night and are too tired to even concentrate on the words of songs or prayers much less a sermon. When you spend longer than 10 seconds finding your Bible to bring this morning because you can’t remember where you left it last week. When you begin to believe that sin is okay after all God is in the forgiving business. When you place more emphasis on how you feel about a song than how you can sing it with feeling to God or to those around you. When you are willing to spend $40 for a good meal but wouldn’t even consider giving more than that to God. When your colleagues are surprised to discover that you are a Christian. When you begin to think that missing the assembly is no big deal. When you begin to emphasize your “enjoyment” at the assembly rather than concentrating on the majesty of God. When you treat others as if they are for your benefit rather than as you would want to be treated.

Israel’s sacrifices were a reflection of their heart. No respect and honor for God made it easy to be casual about worship. We can enter into this building in a casual way and as a result the test for worship isn’t about God but about us. In the process, there is no respect and honor for God. Did you come expecting to meet the Lord? Did you come today recognizing the holiness of God and your own sin in his presence? Did you come today with respect and honor? What is your heart reflecting right now—honor for God or casualness. When’s the last time you met God and knew how great he is and how little you are? Today might be the day for that to happen.

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