Zechariah 7

Now that the temple is underway the people ask if they should continue the religious traditions of the past. God gives an intersting answer:

5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”
8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."

The people had been following the traditions, but they had lost sight of God. They were feasting just to feast, which makes me wonder if we celebrate Christmas just because television commercials tell us to.

The people wanted a yes or no answer… God’s answer is more than they bargained for. God is not content with acts, but hates them if they are not accompanied by genuine love for God and other people.

God’s reply is simple... move away from formalism toward seeking God.

Is the church today too formal? Do we do things just because that's the way we have always done them? Have we lost sight of God?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

We can never seek God like we ought to. We can never love God enough...

But we can try.