True Worship Is From The Heart

You had to notice him every time he was in church. He sat in front, and he was always excited. He danced like crazy to every music and screamed back at the pastor every time. Many of those times, he was considered a distraction by many congregants. Did he not know that others had a right to worship too? As if he held them back from expressing their worship. Someone even argued that he might not be sane as it was not possible to be that excited week in week out.

I flowed with the judging crew until God cautioned me with Mary's story. Yes, she was notorious as a sinner, but hey she'd changed. She followed the Master as a believer. They remember her for her many sins as if they had none of their own. This blessed day, she not only was considered forward; she was deemed wasteful and showy. For Jesus to be allowing her to come near him and performing such acts, His purity was questioned. He certainly couldn't be all that He was deemed to be if He could not recognise this prostitute. Many had been with her under cover of night. Had he not heard?

True, Mary's been around. She's been there, done that but she'd become a different person. She had been cleansed but they would rather she was still filthy. Maybe they wished she were available to fulfil their lusts. The oil she brought to anoint the Master was hers. Did they not know that? If she got the money out of prostitution, at least she worked for it. How could that be hard to comprehend? Had Jesus not told them severally that He came to save the lost? What was their indignation about if not that her actions brought to fore their hypocrisy? Was this not a classic case of the pot calling kettle black? Simon the Pharisee dared to call someone a sinner!

How could worship be wrong when it came from the heart? Were we not supposed to worship in spirit and truth? Is 'kiss the Son...' not part of the Bible? How come they knew how much to spend on the Master? They claimed all that money could be better spent on the poor as if she stopped them from spending their own. See how they couch hypocrisy.

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)

Can we safely conclude that some followed Him around, there was no soul in their worship ...