“The Master said: “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren’t in it. Because they act like they’re worshiping me but don’t mean it, I’m going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing.”Isaiah 29:13-14 MSG
It is possible to repeat words in worship to God without participating in their meaning.
Perhaps you have occasionally found yourself in church singing a hymn, singing every word clearly, even enjoying the song, only to realise that you were not taking note of the words but thinking of something else. This makes you feel rather foolish before God, because you have been singing in worship to him by wrote, without thinking about what you are singing. Imagine if you worshipped like that all the time! How vain that worship would be.
Words uttered by the mouth, however true, do not impress God if the speaker is not taking account of their meaning. Some religions have forms of words that are considered to have power in themselves. But true religion is taking account of what the word of God means, and believing it.
The secret of true worship is that we “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Not only must the things we say and feel be true, but they must be the love of our spirits, our heart’s deep desire. Unfortunately many people worship from ulterior motives, and the desires of their hearts are far from God. Lip service? Self glory? Is your heart in it? — Flore
