“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” - Psalm 51:16-17
For many years, I was impressed with a number of things. I thought it was so great to hear someone recite, from memory, passages and chapters of the Bible. I was impressed with the leadership gifts of certain individuals. I thought highly of preachers who were gifted orators. I respected Bible teachers who could explain difficult Biblical passages with simplicity and clarity.
Certainly these are good things. But do they impress God? When we're around gifted and talented people, we can look at our own lives and get discouraged. If you're like me, you're not ultra-talented. Perhaps your gifts and talents seem few and limited. So when we meet someone who possesses great talents, we feel so small and question our effectiveness.
Yet God is the One who provides individuals with gifts and talents. While it is is our job to hone to talents and improve them, He is the giver of them. He gives to people as He sees fit. Furthermore, those with great talents are responsible for what they do with their talents. There have been many who've wasted their gifts and talents.
When David sinned against God, he made a tremendous discovery. In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be offered when a person sinned. Certainly, David had the means to offer such sacrifices. He was the king. Yet there was a problem. Under the law, he should have been executed for his crimes. Adultery and murder were both crimes that should have brought his death. He was guilty and he knew it. Yet David discovered that God was not interested in a sacrifice. He was interested in something more.
The Jews were expected to follow the letter of the law. Many of the Jews were very knowledgeable of the law. They knew what sacrifices to bring and when to bring them. They could easily worship from their head, reciting the law. They could worship from their hands, offering sacrifices for their sins. Yet God wanted more. He was looking for more. While it is good to worship from your head and your hands, God wants us to worship from the heart.
That was the discovery David made during his confessional prayer in Psalm 51. God was not interested in the sacrifices he could bring as much as He was interested in David himself.
Here in America, we can make the same mistake the Jews made. We can get excited about church budgets, new buildings and paved parking lots. We can emphasize programs and people. We can have event after event. But do we really seek God Himself? Like the Jews, we can worship with our head and our hands, but never worship with our hearts.
Jesus quoted Isaiah's writings about the Jews when He said, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” The Jews were treating man-made rules and regulations as if they were divinely inspired. They created their own standards, to the neglect of the Scriptures. Their worship did not come from the heart. It was just legalism masquerading as worship. The same can happen to us.
David realized that God was looking for a repentant, humble heart. A heart sensitive to the Word of God. A heart longing for the glory of God. A heart that loves righteousness and hates iniquity.
When we attend church weekly, we tend to emphasize our appearance, our diligence and our outward expressions of faith. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with these things, but are our hearts really right before God? We may have prepared for church outwardly, but what about inwardly?
In David's case, the real sacrifice that God was looking for wasn't another animal. It was David himself. God desired David's heart, not his burnt offering. David had been a man after God's own heart. Now, at the bottom of the barrel, David realized that his heart wasn't right with God. David needed his heart to be changed. The sacrifice God wanted was the surrender of David's contrite heart.
No, God isn't as impressed with many of the things that tend to impress us. He is pleased, and at times impressed, with a heart full of faith and love. Church attendance, giving and serving are all important. Yet they need to flow from a heart of faith and love. A heart that is sold out to Jesus. A heart that has been touched by the Master's hand. A heart that is red-hot was a spiritual passion to please the Lord.
That is what God is looking for.
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