Empty Praise

“‘Yet even now,’ the Lord says, ‘return to me with all your heart – with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!’”
Joel 2:12

A theme that resounds throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament is the propensity of man to practice shallow, or hollow, worship. And sadly this issue is just as relevant today in the modern-day church. The simple truth is that Christians are called and commissioned by God to live a set-apart lifestyle. We are to forego the old ways, categorized by selfish pursuits and carnal beliefs, in order to embrace a new mindset, which is fundamentally transformed by the message and mission of Jesus Christ. And within this spiritual metamorphosis is the expectation that believers will daily strive to exhibit honorable traits, and engage a noble purpose. But how many of us really actively strive for this standard? 

In my life there often exists a dichotomy. Like the apostle Paul, I struggle to let the Holy Spirit reign and direct me in His glorious will. When I choose to ignore divine direction I stumble and walk into a pitfall of horrendous decisions. A string of folly ensues. There tends to be an interconnected nature to unwise, unspiritual choices. Anger, jealousy, malice, and greed are but a few of the attributes that become amplified and overwhelm me when I reject the Holy Spirit in favor of my fleshly tendencies. This, in part, plays into the vicious cycle of empty praise and shallow worship.

The book of Joel has a thing or two to teach us about the fallacy of hollow adoration. This short biblical book is yet another stern reminder that the Lord does not tolerate apathetic, lifeless praise. God wants our full allegiance, and He wants us to relinquish the desire to exercise a divided heart. And throughout the lecture-style exposition of Joel we find that God is serious about His creation, and cherishes us with an intense, unyielding love. But implanted within the text of Joel is a very powerful, humbling verse: Joel 2:12. In this verse God calls attention to the fact that many within the ancient community of faith were quick to fast and weep, but slow to let the underlying motivation be generated through intrinsic contriteness and sincerity. People tore their clothes in public displays of sadness, seeking God’s blessing, but many were not willing to let their hearts be guided and molded by the Almighty Lord.

External conformance to religious or cultural customs in and of itself does not please God. In fact, Jesus rebuked many religious leaders for falsely believing that outward acts alone signify one’s loyalty to the Lord. To adequately serve God is to surrender everything. Heart and hand. Mind and mouth. Attitude and activity. And this can, and should, be an inward incentive, not a superficial intention. To this end, I recall a candid illustration of empty praise. Many years ago, a member in our church, at the time, had become good friends with me and my wife. He stopped us one Sunday in a hallway before the morning worship service. Firmly in his grasp was a very delicious-looking cake, neatly adorned with vanilla icing. My wife and I inquired as to what the dessert was for, and the friend responded that it was a teaching tool for children’s church. Noticing our inquisitive look, the man then proceeded to tell us that the cake was actually filled with broken eggs shells and dispersed yoke. The lesson that day for the children was about genuine worship, and how the Pharisees in the Gospel accounts were guilty of yielding hollow worship. The cake was a great visual display of the principle that what looks good on the outside does not always indicate what is good on the inside.     

That application of that cake has stayed with me for quite awhile. And it often causes me to self-evaluate my motives. Through Scripture it is apparent that God has set a high bar for His believers. And the divine instruction beckons followers of God to find the righteous life as the desirable life, which means repelling the acceptance of empty praise. If we declare with our lips amongst fellow believers that we revere God, but in the privacy of our homes or cars succumb to foul speech and profane thought is that genuine worship? If we wear Christian-themed apparel out in public, but in the company of coworkers in the office setting refuse to provide evidence of our earnest affiliation with the Lord is that genuine worship? If we hold a stellar church attendance record, but do not correlate a devotion to God inside the home and in the community, where faith is most needed, is that genuine worship? May Joel 2:12 continually remind us that genuine worship originates in the heart, and no where else.