Motive????

Zechariah 7: 3-10

"....speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, "Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?" Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, "Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted? When you eat and drink, do you not eat for yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? Are not these the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous along with its cities around it, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?'"  Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, "Thus has the Lord of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another."

Wow!!! Paraphrased... what is your true purpose in fasting? What type of tradition are you trying to hold up? What's being accomplished? And lastly, do you really know why you do what you do!

A bit of background, because I'm loving getting the opportunity to study Zechariah and His prophetic ministry amongst God's people....
During the 5th and 7th month of every year, the Jewish people conducted a time of fasting to remember many of the historical events that had happened in their past... Such as the brining of their temple. Or the assassination of one of their great leaders named Gedaliah. Present day would be the Holocaust. Whatever events there way, that would entice a mournful atmosphere would represent why they chose to have annual times of fasting.

So they approach the prophet and the priests to inquire of the Lord "should we mourn and fast as we have done annually for years?"

In that moment of reading this I begin to wonder what triggered the sudden break in their tradition? And I can only assume that the Lord God had been convicting their hearts to turn away from empty rituals. Acts that no longer are directed toward God but rather are for show. God challenges them by asking "Are you doing this for me?"

And the answer was no...they were not! Sometimes we can do things the "Christian way" without giving much thought to why we do it. Giving money to the homeless, inviting others over for Bible study or just a meal, lifting our hands in church, etc.... There are two motives that can battle against each other with our actions! The first motive is that truly I want people to see God! I want Him to be honored and adorned. I want the world to know what kind of love He possesses... A love that saves! The second is us, me, motivated. I want the homeless man to see me, I want those that I invite over to adore my home, I want people to see me lifting my hands in worship to see that 'I' am actively in worshiping God.

The temptation is not far from any of us... How scary is that! But the reality is, we as Christians get one opportunity, one life, to show fourth the glory of God! And thankfully He tells us how to in the proceeding verses!
- administer true justice
-show mercy and compassion one to another
-do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the alien or the poor
- and in your hearts do not think evil of one another

Simple and straight forward? Not really... Because even in doing these 'actions' we can still become tempted to unintentionally make these our medals. Even as the rich young ruler in the NT stated.. 'but Lord I already do all these things' Mark 10: 17-27... But it gets very real when God tells us, as He did the Rick young ruler 'Don't be content with just following this list... Go the extra mile. Sell all of your belongings!'

It's only then that it becomes less about us and more about Jesus and the other. So my challenge today is this... Be intentional with how I talk and walk as a Christian. No more 'christian-ese' lingo or absent minded Christian deeds. No more prayer or scripture reading out of obligation. I want to pursue God and do good because it's who He is in me! Living, moving and being! Thank you Lord for allowing your prophecy back then to impact our hearts even now! I love you with a renewed focus today!

 

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