Zechariah Chapter 7

What do you really feel when you go to church on Sunday? Is it a case of turning up because that's just what you do on Sunday, because all your friends go, your colleagues, business associates? Is it a case of going to impress the neighbours as to how holy your are, how good and righteous, how faithful? Or do you go to worship the one true Living God, to give Him your praise, your worship, your thanks? To seek his face, and to do his will?

And what about the rest of the week? Do you have a Christian face you wear on Sunday mornings, only to take it off the rest of the time when you lie, gossip, take part in shady business deals, beat your wife behind closed doors, abuse your children, your employees?
Here, God is telling the people of Bethel in no uncertain terms that they had a Sunday face, they were worshipping, fasting, but their hearts were not in it. They were doing it for show, and there was no meaning behind the ritual.


We need to get our hearts right, to turn to God and not just be a Sunday Christian. Our lives need to reflect our faith, whether we are with others or on our own. We may be able to fool others, to fool ourselves, but we are unable to fool God. He sees right inside each one of us, to those deep dark places we never even venture ourselves because they are too murky, too depressing, with all the hidden sins and secrets. He knows when we wear our Sunday faces, when our hearts are not in the worship, it is just meaningless words, and he also knows when our hearts are truly filled with worship, when our voices are raised to him in praise and we really mean it with every atom of our being.


We are called to love mercy, to seek justice and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8), just as much as the Israelites were when they went to Zechariah asking if they should keep the day of mourning as they had for the past 70 years. Our hearts need to be right with God, not our demonstrations and professions of faith.