Key Verse: Proverbs 21:3 “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” A big problem in churches today is hypocrisy. Our churches are full of people who go to church on Sunday but live like the devil throughout the rest of the week. Some of these people believe that because they sacrificed their Sunday morning and went to church that God is pleased with them. This is not the case. Here in Proverbs we are reminded of what truly pleases God. It isn’t the sacrifice of a lamb or a goat. Rather what pleases God is righteousness. What is righteousness? In this context righteousness is right behavior in the eyes of God. It is actions and thoughts that God deems as right. If one is going to please God they must do right actions. However, one must also be just. This means that they should reward that which good and punish that which is evil. In today’s world its easy to that many treat evil as good, and good as evil. This is not the way its meant to be, and these people do not please God even if they sing in the choir, or preach from the pulpit. God desires us to live rightly in His eyes and also love justice. God wants obedience more then sacrifice. Sacrifice without obedience accomplishes nothing. Sacrificial tithing, or sacrificing your hobby to attend church means very little if you are consistently living in sin. God wants obedience. God doesn’t want hypocritical worship. God wants you to live right and promote justice! Are you acceptable to Him today?
