No Bull

As I was reading from Psalm 50 this morning, I was reminded of a class in which Dr Neil Prior at Harding University read this passage and paused at verse 9, which read, "I have no need of bull from your stalls."  He laid his Bible down, looked out at our class and said something like, "Always remember that God doesn't want any bull coming from you."  His turn of words was both humorous and spot on.

The Psalmist was emphasizing that God, who owned "the world and everything in it" (vs 12), did not need the sacrifices of bulls, which even the unrighteous posers or hypocrites offered up.  And Dr Prior was emphasizing that God still had no use for pretenders in the pulpit or posers in the pews.  God has always been, is now and forever will be interested in any amount sincere, authentic faith far more than any amount of religious ritual or pious activity.

I was raised up going to church every time the doors were opened but I can tell you that my heart wasn't always there and there came a time as a young teen that my heart, mind and soul were always somewhere else.  And, as the attraction of the world grew while the hypocrisy of my actions and of others became so glaringly evident, my body finally went somewhere else.

The problem was that my sitting in a church building had no more bearing on my being a Christian than sitting in a hen house would have caused me to become a chicken.  While it is true that chickens tend to gather in hen houses, it is also true that foxes, weasels and snakes tend to show up as well.  The difference is in authenticity and intent.

I went to church because my parents, Mom especially, insisted I be there.  Some teenage boys showed up because a certain teenage girls attended.  Some grown men find there way to church in search of a sales base for their business.  Some truly despicable individuals even seek out church leadership positions simply to gain power and control.  The church has always been home to both sheep and "wolves in sheep clothing" (Mt 7:15).

God neither needs nor wants our acts of worship or piety.  He is sovereign and completely self-sufficient.  But he desires our authentic faith and devotion, which serve to bless us and bless others in service.  Trusting, obeying and truly honoring God brings warmth to his heart as it would to any parent.  But like a loving parent, inauthentic or manipulative actions of a child brings only heartache and disappointment.

Like our Father in Heaven, parents have no desire for any of our "bull."  In fact, no one really cares for it.  Pretentious actions, while for a time may be accepted as authentic, will eventually be found out and put off those who come to realize the lie within.  Abraham Lincoln once quipped, "You can fool all the people some of he time, some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."  I would add, "You can't fool God any of the time."

God does not have need of any of our bull and he knows, even before we say or do that which is pretentious, that it is fake and manipulative for "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:13).  You can stop pretending, stop trying to hide, stop offering bull - God already knows the truth, he already knows your heart.

Why not come clean with him so that he can cleanse your heart fully?  He will, you know: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn 1:8).  God is waiting for you to be fully real with him.  Jus' Say'n, no bull.