1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words. 4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear. (Ecclesiastes 5)
The writer of Hebrews tells us we are to offer the sacrifice of Praise to God - that we are to worship Him with our words. The day of animal sacrifice is past. That is true. But we must also avoid our tendency to make our sacrifice only words, or only words and giving offerings. Many songs we sing today in worship are all about what "I" do - when it really boils down to what I say or sing." Talk less; listen more. That is more sacrifice, more worship. Sacrifice is more than the gift we bring or the words we say; it is our heart attitude toward God, and the life that follows after we bring them and say them. The next paragraph talks about how we treat others - is it with justice and compassion? If not, words are meaningless, and our "sacrifice" is meaningless. The ChristLife of Sacrifice is THE life we are called on to live - let's live it, not just say or sing it.
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