Going Through the Motions?

by Brad Kibler

What do you remember from yesterday morning? It's only been about 24 hours, so it should still be fairly fresh. I remember running late, and being disappointed that I missed the songs at the beginning of worship, and walked in right at the close of the prayer. I could probably name several of the ministries that Dennis and the round table discussed, but probably not all of them. I could give you examples of themes from Luke's writing and supporting passages, but to be honest, that probably sunk in more because I was being more attentive to my mid-week readings in preparation for these devotionals.

How about the week before this? Or last month? Ideally, I've been able to involve the principles and truths into my ever-maturing world view, but if I'm pressed for specifics, I'd have to refer to my notes to have any hope of a good response. I've gone to church hundreds of times in my life, and pulling out specific examples is difficult. It's like a tradition: you do something in almost the same way time after time and the details of one specific time can fade.

The good thing about traditions is that as you keep doing the same things over and over, the message can become more deeply rooted. On the flip side, once you've participated in a tradition a number of times, the temptation is there to 'tune out' and just go through the motions.

Let's look at songs as an example: When you first hear a song, it can be difficult to focus on the meaning of the words, since you're focusing on remembering the tune, rhythm, and the words themselves. There comes a point at which you've sung a song enough times that remembering the words and tune are no longer your focus, and you can sing the words from your heart like a prayer. You can recall the words and apply their truths even when you're not in corporate worship. It is at this juncture that you can also 'coast'. If we sing that song in worship that you've sung so many times in the past, you may get off-focus onto a new harmony you haven't tried, or the person singing next to you, or even to your mental to-do list.

In Joel, we're not given much specificity as to what they were doing wrong to deserve the punishment they were getting. The only hint we get is "Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!" (1:5a) where it refers to drunkenness. Of course, the prophet started that lyrical pattern with "Hear this, you elders..." (1:2) and it goes on in that pattern to say "Despair, you farmers..." (1:11a) "Put on sackcloth, O priests..." (1:13a). Since not all in the audience were elders, farmers, or priests, I think it is safe to say they weren't all drunkards either. Perhaps it was obvious to them what their sin was. Perhaps Joel told them, but it's just not recorded. In any case, how many times do we read stories of Israel intermarrying with the heathen and then worshiping the pagan gods, and God calling his wrath on them. That sounds so foreign to us. Not too many of us have a daily struggle with our spouse wanting us to pray to Allah or Vishnu. But when the sin is unspecified, it is easier for me to apply the principles involved to today.

One powerful principle God tells his people through Joel is found in 2:13: "Rend your heart and not your garments..." 'Rending your garments' is just a fancy way of saying 'tearing your clothes', which is what the Jews did to show their mourning and repentance. Another way to say it would be: "I want you to follow me with your heart, not just your outward actions." Or, "Don't just go through the motions." Or, "Don't coast." Perhaps the people of Joel's day got lukewarm. Maybe it wasn't some huge outward sin that caused God's army of locusts, drought, and fire to be called forth as punishment. Maybe they had simply tuned out and got distracted with their daily lives.

Whatever you do today, put your heart into it. Don't let your to-do-list run your life today, decide to be passionate in pursuit of God's will today. His will may indeed be that you get through your to-do-list, but it will be to his glory if we are doing it out of a heart of worship.