What Does God Want?

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’                                                                                                              Matthew 25:40

The wisdom literature in the Bible is fascinating to me. One can find practical instruction that is good for how to live among other people. One can find the heart of God in literature such as Proverbs. You also can find some arcane sayings that are baffling to modern readers. Yet, we can learn much from this literature, and the Proverb above is one that I like. I like it because it speaks to how God sees his children living out their lives with one another.

The Proverbs, and other Bible passages, speak about the need for us to treat one another well, for as we do that, we treat God well. God wants us to do well toward others more than he wants some sacrifice to him. God was speaking to the Hebrew nation that valued sacrifices of goats and lambs. Yet God essentially said, “I would rather that you take care of one another than to sacrifice more sheep to me” (my feeble translation of the Proverb…). Jesus expounded on this when he explained that “whatever you do for the poorest person among you, you did for me…”

I mean, how can you not love a God that has that kind of a plan?

Prayer: What a powerful message of who God is! Amen