By Mark Wilmoth

On a cool July night in 2010, 3-year-old David Lew and some family members found themselves stranded on the bank of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming when their boat’s motor failed. Lew’s father and uncle radioed for help, but a storm blew in while the sheriff’s office was responding to their distress call. On the journey back to the marina, Deputy Jeff Sheaman noticed that little David had lost consciousness because he was so cold. Sheaman pulled the little boy onto his lap, opened his own coat and then wrapped David against his body for warmth. David was later treated for hypothermia at a hospital and made a full recovery.

Last spring, as David Lew prepared to graduate from high school, he sent a handwritten note to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office asking that now Det. Sgt. Jeff Sheaman come to his high school graduation and award his diploma. Lew reasoned, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.” Sheaman, who was about to retire from the sheriff’s office, was touched by the request. “That’s what it’s all about. Knowing that I helped a kid grow up, graduate and live a full life — I can retire happy picturing David walking across that stage.”

David Lew could think of no better way to express his heartfelt gratitude than having Det. Sgt. Sheaman hand him his diploma.

For the people of Israel, the sacrifices offered in the Temple were intended to be an expression of gratitude. With each sacrifice, the people were reminded that they would have nothing if not for God’s blessing. With each sacrifice, the people would not only be reminded that their wealth came from God, but they would also be able to demonstrate their faith that God would continue to bless. When one offers a firstborn ox, sheep or goat in sacrifice, one is depending on God to give more calves, lambs and kids.

Israel found a way to pervert that system. The people of Israel began to think that God owed them because of their giving, so they gave in expectation rather than as an expression of gratitude. They expected God to continue to bless them simply because they made the required offering. And, in their minds, the rest of their behavior didn’t matter because they had already given to God what He required of them.

God reacted with anger and disappointment in Isaiah 1:11-15 (NIV). “The multitude of your sacrifices– what are they to me?” says the LORD. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations– I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!”

The prophet Micah emphasized the same truth when he challenged the people of Israel: “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Understand this about your relationship with God: While rituals like baptism and the Lord’s Supper are very important, they must be accompanied by a heartfelt gratitude and obedience to God. Giving an offering matters, but we must also respond generously to the needs of people around us. Any heart too calloused to be grateful for forgiveness through Christ and to feel compassion for those hurting and in need isn’t a heart where God resides. Ceremonies and singing have their place, but God must reign in the heart. Worship that doesn’t begin in the heart isn’t acceptable.

Mark Wilmoth is with Pinehurst Christian Church in Marietta and can be reached at Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org