Not Ritual, but Opportunity

Scripture:
When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
Isaiah 1:12

Observation: Isaiah's prophesies begin with the Lord declaring his frustration with Israel. He even says he has punished them so much that they are beaten up yet haven't corrected themselves, so punishment has become pointless. They aren't listening, and they don't know him. He has even grown tired of the very mechanisms defined to bring them close to him ... festivals, fellowship offerings, sacrifices, prayer ... he doesn't want them anymore. He describes their coming and going from these things a "trampling of his courts" and wonders who even asked them to do all this in the first place.

Well, one might answer ... the Lord himself asked for all this. However, the truth is, he did not. The Lord did not ask for unrepentant people to periodically go through a ritual that involved procedural public bathing followed by milling around a giant barbeque speaking scripted words so they could then return to their homes and pray to other gods. The Lord asked for his faithful people, who have managed their lives in a manner that kept him central, to partake in communion with him, and then to keep him central in their lives until the next time they come.

The Lord is clear that their worship is empty because it is procedural obedience, not a heart-felt alignment and worship. This is especially true when many of them include other parts of their daily routine that are in contradiction to the Lord, such as worship to false gods, making the ritualistic process they give to Yahweh even worse as it isn't even an act of compliance to the one true God at that point, but just some acts they do every day.

Application: I know I go through times when things I do to honor the Lord, I do out of ritual or just process. There are times I attend church on Sunday because ... that's what one does on Sunday morning, and I sing worship songs there because that's the first thing we do during service. And I know when I do that, I am not really being faithful, and I feel that real-time. Even though the Lord has asked for my worship, he doesn't really hear it when I'm only doing it as part of a ritual habit. Even my devotions, there are times I do these simply because this is what I do to start my day.

Yes, I need to avoid this pattern and work through it when it happens. I do know the Holy Spirit helps with this, as there are times I know this is my mindset and then my mindset adjusts as I lean into worship or prayer or the word. That said, the fix is NOT to just tell myself "okay, time to get your mind and heart right and want to be with the Lord". The fix is to actually keep the Lord central in my life, and thus these actions are not just ritual, they are opportunity.

Going to church isn't a ritual for Sunday morning, it is an opportunity to surround myself with believers and learn more about Jesus. Worship isn't a ritual of singing to God, it is an opportunity to use music to express my love and thanks and praise to Yahweh. Devotions aren't a ritual to clear my head for the day, they are an opportunity to connect with the Holy Spirit and bring him into my life through the eternal word of the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I never, ever want to be accused of trampling on your courts. I don't want my actions to be rituals I just do. May I keep you more and more central in my life and in my heart every day, so my worship and prayer may simply flow as a part of my love for you. Amen.

A Healthy Body, or Beautification

Scripture: Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:6-7

Observation: Paul goes into a discussion here about the human body being the Lord's temple on earth, and yet the body is not to be particularly cherished because we have a better, perfected self awaiting in heaven. He calls our earthly body a 'tent' that we live in, but the version of our body in heaven is our true home. We take care of this earthly body yet we still groan with aches and needs, but the one in heaven will be perfected.

He concludes this with a verse (v7) that is often quoted but clearly done so out of context ... "we live by faith, not by sight." It is clear from what immediately precedes this that Paul is talking about the human body. He is actually stating that, we do not live for the visual appearance of our bodies ... we especially do not live in order to make our bodies beautiful and perfect and appealing and pleasing to look at ... we live for Jesus and by faith we will get a perfected body later.

Application: My wife and I had a conversation three days ago about a friend who has begun a health kick. At first it was about losing weight ... a good and noble quest, and one I actually am in desperate need to pursue myself. However, we are worried that, for our friend, it has become an image obsession. It's gone from working out, to upending his daily routines by altering his personal meal practices at the expense of time with his wife, to losing out on other time as he prioritizes gym attendance with one specific trainer over all other activities, to now spending new money on skin care products and spa treatments. Individually, these are things people do. Collectively, this looks like a man who is now prioritizing and paying special attention to his body in a manner that goes beyond worldly health and drifts toward appearance obsession. It is worrisome in our friend.

This is common, I feel, for many who do not have Jesus in their lives, and thus spend significant time focused on 'beauty' (maybe not causation, but correlation?). They may think they do so for health purposes, but they also do so for everything else that comes with it ... pride in self and worldly attention from others being prominent. They want their earthly bodies to appeal to earthly sensibilities, and dedicate time to it that could have been spent in other ways.

I am not saying beauty is wrong, and I'm not saying I believe that taking care of one's health is wrong in any way. I am saying that turning one's body into a place that we want to beautify almost in the same way one would invest in art and style to beautify their home ... well ... "as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord." We are not designed to turn our earthly body into a beautiful home. We are designed to care for our earthly bodies as a tent we live in for years, and thus it needs TLC and attention and mending and proper management, and we do that because we aren't proud in this body, knowing our perfect body will be given us in heaven.

Prayer: Lord, as I consider this somewhat trivial yet complex topic, I pray for those who make their bodies a focus in their lives. May we all find your balance in how we care for ourselves here on earth. I myself would like to spend more time so I can be healthier in weight and strength and thus spend my older years in good health with my wife. I know I need to take better care of my tent. I feel like the balance is at the line between health and beautification. However, I do not know the truth, and I ask only for your guidance in this matter for all, including me. Amen.