Be Real - Why Do You Worship?

There are many reasons I can list for why growing up attending church has been and continues to be beneficial in my life. However, this morning I want to consider a potential challenge for people who come from families that worship and serve God. The challenge I have in mind is that if we are not careful, we can begin viewing the religion of Christianity as a weekend activity we participate in, instead of a relationship we daily are engaged in.

The challenge of growing up in a religious home is that a person can easily find themselves going through the motions required to honor their leaders and parents. A term for this is superficial formality – this means to have a shallow observance of rituals or rules. It is important to be real – often and sincerely – and to ask, is my religious practice a formality or is it a life-giving relationship? This really comes down to the heart. Are we worshipping and serving ourselves or are we worshipping and serving God? Be Real - Why Do You Worship?

Today our text is 1 Samuel 8:1-3 and we will focus primarily on verse 3 – “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.”

Context:  We are not sure how many years have gone by, we just know Samuel has now grown old. He has faithfully served God and the people of Israel since he was a little boy in the Tabernacle. Remember, Samuel has served in a dual role among the Israelites as judge and prophet. As his life is nearing its end, he makes some moves that will ensure the people continue to have leaders (remember back to the period of the Judges, when they had no leader – “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”) who will guide them into wholly serving God. 

Lesson: Samuel appoints his sons to be the Judges of Israel. There are two noteworthy problems with this decision made by Samuel. The first is just that…Samuel is the one who decided to give his sons the leadership role of Judge. Historically, through the period of the Judges, man has not appointed the Judge, God has. Secondly, we learn that the reputation and character of his sons disqualifies them from any such role.

The phrase, revealing the heart of his sons, that caught my attention is, “his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain.” How sad of a thought that Samuel’s sons viewed serving God as a means to get what they wanted. Walk is referring to one’s conduct and lifestyle. This isn’t a onetime mistake, this is habitual. They have turned aside – literally they have ceased to follow the path their father was on and had mapped one of their own. The sons of Samuel did not worship God, inwardly or outwardly. We can conclude, that just because one’s parents love and serve God, it does not mean the children will as well.

 Application: The fruit don’t lie - and in this story, it is clear that their actions reveal hearts that do not love and serve God but that love and serve self. Be real…Why Do You Worship? Do you worship and serve God for personal gain or because you love Him?