Psalm 40
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
When I read Psalm 40 I was immediately reminded of Jesus's quote from Hosea, but since I am a pastor in the year 2016 I had to look up the scripture online, when I did I came across a link of someone asking for a simple explanation of what "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" means. I didn't click the link, so I am unsure of why the person needs a simple explanation or what the simple explanation was, but I do think that I can answer the question, both in a simple way and a more complex way.
In simplest terms it means that God desires mercy not sacrifice.
In more complex terms it means that while sacrifice is something that should flow out of following God, what God considers of more importance than what we give up is how we treat others. Sacrifice has the potential to be a selfish act, we give up something so we feel good about giving it up, but when we show mercy [in other words not do unto others as they deserve] it is always directed toward the other, and God is very concerned about the other.
Unfortunately in the past 2000 years or so we have created a Christianity that is very I focused instead of other focused. If you need proof of that just pay attention to the songs you sing in church or hear on a Christian radio station, most of them will use I and me language. It's why we have conversations about how a person can get to heaven and not go to church, as if the only point of believing in and following God was your own personal salvation, when in truth it is not, following God has always been about the other, from the point where God told Abram that God would bless the whole world through him.
How have you noticed Christianity being I focused? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking its just about you and your salvation?
How have you noticed Christianity being other focused? How have you participated in being other focused?
p.s. So friends, as we sit here on Black Friday may we remember that God desires mercy not sacrifice, which is not call to stop giving Christmas gifts but is a call to treat the people you encounter as if they are real human beings and not just things in your way of the perfect gift.
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