False Sacrifices
3/6/17
For many, it is difficult to understand why people do certain customary benefits in front of on-looking eyes when it is obvious that their heart is not in the reason why that act is performed. Going through the motions is a false sacrifice on both sided parties and for the most part, the physical aspect of this lie can be circumvented without grave consequences. But when it comes to God these heart-lacking symbols and ceremonies tell of a heart that is not interested in the truth and when performed something or someone usually suffers major consequences. We must ask ourselves how many times we have fit families into certain settings due to our lackluster beliefs about important functions and while we are digging into our hearts, we can ask the same question when it comes to God and His Word as well.
Personal agendas serve their own purposes which always end up serving no one else but self. It is a common fact that humans absolutely love to use personal agendas to get their point across or to arrange a specific chord with others but in the end many of those involved in that process see what really occurred and then are left to make decisions concerning such actions later. For those that are invited many will understand and agree with what transpires and thus fail to recognize the real meaning of both the ceremony and the true meaning of the heart performing, but not all shall be blind to this lie either. What one man or woman deems issues to be worthy others deem them to be minor and not worth mentioning, so who wins or is there even a question to be asked?
There have been many times in my life that I have waited until the last minute to get a project, assignment, or job done. Most of us can attest to this fact about ourselves, I do not know how many times I have procrastinated in completing my chores, my homework assignments or my papers simply because I would rather be doing other things. When I was in high school, a senior to be more specific, I had all semester to research, compose, write and then type my senior research paper. I find it kind of funny now – in some ways – because my paper had to be on a writer that was not from this country, so lucky me I chose a poet from England. At first I thought that the assignment was going to be a snap and that I would not have to put forth too much effort in this project but honestly believed that I could “fake” it enough to still obtain a good grade.
Time passed and while my parents knew that I had this large project due, they allowed me time to complete things on my own, all the while chomping at the bit and dying to say something about the project before it was too late. Days and then weeks passed and mom and dad began their assault on my timeframe and project. “Assault” is what I deemed it way back then parenting is what I call it today. In my mind, I had more important things to take care of while attending high school and as long as I had those in mind, my large project would remain a distant 145th on my list to get done. I remind you that while other seniors had underwater basket weaving I, II, and III as their core classes, mine schedule was pretty tough and included Trig, Calculus, Physics, Advanced Biology, and then two hours at the hospital every day yet I continued to ignore the English assignment.
Quickly, time began to run short and I found myself haphazardly putting footnotes together, learning how to spell my subject’s name, and compiling all of the information together as I was requested. A beautiful disaster lay in front of my eyes and for some reason, I honestly believed that I had spent enough time on this project to receive a good grade. The paper was due on Monday morning for I had English 2nd hour and I remember my dad still typing this monstrosity of mine on Sunday afternoon when he should have been getting ready for the Sunday night service. What a fool I was in believing that I deserved anything but an average to poor grade for the lack of commitment I had to that project.
I had spent so much time running around not following what I was supposed to be doing trying to sham my way through the paper that I had totally lost all honesty about what I was supposed to be learning how to do. While I received the grade that I deserved for the garbage that I turned in, I could not fault my parents one bit for, in the end, it was their true dedication that saved the work that I turned into the teacher. I did not like to read or write at this point in my life but for some reason I liked school, I know, it makes no sense but at that time I had the desire to finish and I wanted to do this yet did not want to spend the time and the effort to do such things. What I did not understand at that moment was that my efforts were strictly directed as a false sacrifice to the ultimate authority which controlled whether I passed or not and when my grade returned I then realized just how much my mindless efforts cost me. I did pass of course, but I knew that my heart was not in what I was asked to do and therefore, the results of my quest were not up to the high standard that was placed before me.
We have a few wonderful examples in God’s Word that deal with such false sacrifices, ones that come across as failed excuses for the truth yet bring forth the truth of what lies inside them at the same time. All four of the examples that I am going to use come from the book of Genesis, with three of them being not good ones and one being the true and perfect example of an honest and pure heart. Each example is widely recognized and has been read many times by many pulpits and teachers but God wants to make sure that we understand exactly why we are in the predicament that we are today and if we turn our lives around and return back to Him and follow His ways with our entire hearts we can be safe in His arms for eternity. Through these examples, we will be able to understand that while the processes may differ a bit it is the will of the heart that matters when it comes to obedience and the true meaning of sacrifice.
One thing we must acknowledge about this subject is that Adam, Eve, and God had to have conversations about covering and what it meant to be separated from the outside through this covering. For when these examples are given it should click in our hearts that many detailed conversations must have taken place between the individuals in order for the reactions to take place. As time progresses, again with the reactions of the participants we must accept that what they do in response states that they knew about covering and what it meant to their lives. I continue to be amazed at all of the details that I have missed when studying and listening to God’s voice concerning this beginning book of His Word. That statement in itself serves as a false sacrifice for I have had His Word in front of me all my life yet shoved it aside waiting until a future date to understand it and not just have read it.
The first example that will be given occurs in the Garden of Eden immediately after Adam and Eve have allowed sin to enter into their lives. Genesis 3:6-7 it states the following: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” It is this act of Adam and Eve that identifies what was in their hearts at that moment. There is no way possible to justify that God was first in their lives when they took a bite from that tree because the Bible says that it was an immediate effect of what they did, a false sacrifice that they believed would keep them safe was exposed. It was their heart’s condition that made all the difference when that day arrived.
The second example that we can draw from comes to us from Genesis 4:3-8 focusing on verses 3-5 and once again it comes from a direct descendant of Adam and Eve. By this time, Adam and Eve were no longer in the perfect surroundings of the Garden of Eden and were living out beyond those confines. They had two boys that were named Cain and Abel with Cain being a worker of the ground and Abel tending sheep. The process of sacrifice was evident and the meaning of such ceremony had been taught to them by their parents but we see that one of the boys fully follows the example of previous teachings and the other does not and does it his own way, a scene that must have brought flashbacks to Adam and Eve’s minds when noticed. And it places into perspective that a similar pattern was followed here when Cain decided to make his own sacrifice according to his ways instead of what had been shown to him before.
We must keep in mind here that through all of the escapades that Adam and Eve had done and all the resulting consequences of those actions, that not all of their children had properly comprehended how important it was to keep God’s Order intact. In verses 3-5 of this chapter, we find out that Cain’s sacrifice is not accepted by God just as we saw that Adam and Eve’s sacrifice in the Garden of Eden was not accepted before. We next see that Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God and then resulted in one of the most brutal results known in human history but as we will see here in a few moments it was not the only time a sacrifice was performed that was based on a lying heart.
The third example of a false sacrifice comes from the book of Genesis Chapter 38:29-38 which many of us will instantly recognize as the story of Joseph and his brothers. Now we all have siblings that get on our nerves at times and at some time during our growing up years we plot against them to ensure that they understand their place and that they are just being one big nuisance for everyone else. For the most part, we never act on these thoughts and plots but here in this example, Joseph had become such a bother that the brothers were serious and ended up selling him into slavery. While this part of the story is bad enough, they compound the situation by killing a goat, ripping the blood from the animal, dipping the coat of Joseph in the blood and then to make things worse, took the coat to their father and lied about what had occurred to Joseph. While some of Joseph’s brothers may not have been too keen on this plan and follow through, they all participated in the act and prepared and presented a false sacrifice in order to accomplish their belief.
Do you see a pattern here? In all three examples, people had chosen their own sacrificial patterns in order to accomplish their own personal wills instead of following and listening to what God was trying to tell them. It was through this gift of free will that all of these stories took place and in each example given a false sacrifice, one that came from an ungodly heart and selfish heart that proved to be nothing but a superficial and self-serving lie both according to physical standards and God’s divine law. Some may say, so what an animal’s life was taken or it was just a bunch of veggies that were burned but it was the thought that counts, right? On the surface, these acts may seem to be sufficient to some people, but to God, the true meaning of covering and protection was gravely violated when the people involved did their best to do things their way.
We now come to the fourth example of sacrificial practice but this one is completely different from the three previous ones presented. It too comes from the book of Genesis and provides us a standard that once given never changed and through every conversation before it was directly spoken about to all parties involved. This sacrifice occurred when God slew an animal or animals in Genesis 3:21 and provided skins for Adam and Eve’s bodies before they were cast out of the Garden. God understood what Adam and Eve had done and what the consequences of their actions were going to produce, but at the same time He never gave up on them and gave them another token of His Grace by providing another true sacrificial covering through the shedding of blood. It is the shedding of pure blood that defines God’s covering, defines Covenant, provides the lambs for the Israelites, and eventually God’s own Son’s blood. But all throughout this journey of human history, we have continued to dig out our own leanings for our selfish ways and have snubbed the real truth about God and our existence.
Ironically we are trying our best to prove God’s holy and pure sacrifice is a false one because each and every day that we walk on this ground we push God aside and tell Him that we have things under control and that He is a fool for believing otherwise. The Bible has many more examples of false sacrifices and each one of these examples scream out the fact that humans believe they have all the answers and that God’s Ways is of no importance. This is not an Old Testament example nor is it just a New Testament example either this type of belief is present from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 and every letter, word, and phrase in between. How many times have we placed our results on the table based on a ½ witted heart? What is it going to take for the Church to realize that their patterns today are following exactly what the first three examples did? Do you still not see the pattern being followed here? If you do, which pattern do you recognize? Do you recognize both of them or just one of them?
In truth, there are two patterns here and we are doing our best to ignore both from their origins. First of all, we must realize and then accept that we need God to cover our every moment and in order for us to do this we must lay down our self-sacrificing practices and come under the true sacrifice of God’s Son. Secondly, we need to allow God to infiltrate our lives completely so that we may be separate from the world so that we can do what we have been commanded to do. Our command is not to “go” and while we must go in order for us to complete our command, our command is to teach the gospel to the dying world. We cannot do this while we are falsely sacrificing for show; we need to be under the Sacrifice’s protection in order to complete our mission. It is the sacrifice of our hearts to God that makes all the difference for when we sacrifice in the correct manner all worldly settings become nonexistent.
Church, repent and turn your hearts back to God and let us stop performing false sacrifices for our own purposes. All of us have wished we had done things differently but we cannot turn back the hands of time but we can change our hearts and focus them on God today. The only way that we are going to see a change in our world is if we turn back to God, there is no other way. God loves us from our Creation to our end and He will stop at nothing for us to understand the true meaning of sacrifice and what it means to our eternal lives. Let us live under the fourth sacrificial example and forsake the first three examples; it will do our lives an eternal deed if we do.
DLB
No comments:
Post a Comment