We bring a lot of stuff to worship. Some of it gets left in the pews: Bibles, toys, assorted pillows, footstools, snacks/candy, sweaters and checkbooks, to name a few. Some of it we shouldn’t bring: #nodrinks. This short read isn’t about that. It is about what we must bring in order for our worship to be acceptable.
We need to bring the right heart. Jesus admonished some saying that their worship was vain. “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men’” (Matt. 15:7-9). We need to come to worship God with the right heart. These people’s worship was not acceptable, not because their hearts didn’t want to worship, but because their hearts were out of line in other areas in life. In this case, they were not taking care of their parents.
We need to bring the right attitude. A parable is told about the attitudes of two men approaching God, the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee talked about how great he was as though God deserved to have him. The other said, “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said, “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). We must make sure that humility and reverence are characteristics we strive for in our approach to a Holy God.
We need to bring the right desire. “With all my heart I have sought You” (Psa. 119:10). Have you ever been in the room with someone, and you know they didn’t want to be there? How did that feel? Do you think God notices? Worship is not like a participation grade. As long as I show up, I can get full credit. That’s not really how it works. Are we worshiping if our mouths and hearts aren’t moving in song (Eph. 5:19)? To be real, not many people are waking up on Sunday morning shouting, “Hallelujah, praise Jesus!” However, what may start as obligation can grow into desire with maturity.
A few things we shouldn’t bring. An overcritical attitude that complains about those that serve, how people dress, etc. Politics or pet issues have no place in worship. These are petty, insignificant things compared to worshipping the Creator of the UNIVERSE, just saying. Hypocrisy should be checked at the door. We need to live Monday through Saturday in a way that doesn’t make Sunday feel awkward. These are things that are more disruptive to worship than a cell phone. Coming to God ready to worship has much more to do with our hearts than our clothing ever does.