Saturday 3 June 2006

The sacrifice that pleases God

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” - Psalms 51v17

Sacrifice has always been a part of man’s desire to be united with their concept of God. Virtually every religion includes some time of sacrifice in an attempt to “appease the gods.” The Old Testament even had a sacrificial system. Sacrifices can be appealing because they make us feel like we have done something to make up for our sins.

Even Christians can fall into this sacrificial mindset. We sometimes think that by sacrificing our time, money, and resources we somehow do a work that will make God happy. God is pleased with all those things, but that is not what he wants from us.

The sacrifice God wants from us is a broken spirit and and broken, contrite heart. We can sacrifice all the time and effort we want, but if our hearts and spirits are not humble to His direction it is all in vain.

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