Our modern, western society is extremely individualistic. Personal expression is prized, people are encouraged to be their authentic selves and live life according to their dreams and desires. It is unavoidable that this worldview can seep into our ideas about faith and belief. Many believe that they can be spiritual without having a particular faith, or belonging to a community of believers, and there are as many ways to be spiritual as there are people in the world.

This is not how it was in God’s law. There was only one way to have faith, to worship, and to have a relationship with the divine – God’s way. Sacrifices were to be brought to the temple, even if it was inconvenient, even if it wasn’t someone’s personal preference, because that’s where God was. Nothing else would do. Other pagan belief systems may allow sacrifices in the fields, but God was different and his people had to be different.

It is true that we as individual Christians may have preferences about how, where and when we worship, and sometimes those things can be flexible, but what is not flexible is that our worship is for God and God alone, and so it should please him, even if that means it doesn’t always suit us.

John the Baptist said of Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30). This is a saying that we can live our lives by. Our desires, our preferences, our personalities and our personal expressions are not to be raised up above all other things. Instead, we focus less on ourselves so that our focus on Jesus can be greater. Our desires must become less so that God’s purposes can take a greater place in our lives. Less of our way, more of God’s way!

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NEWBOLD COMMUNITY CHURCH