Proverbs 21:3 - To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
In the movie American Gangster, Frank Lucas, a driver for a Harlem drug lord, rises to the top the heroine world after his mentor, Bumpy Johnson, dies of a heart attack. To build the
“business”, Frank starts to import his heroine directly from Vietnam which paves the way to the top of a very lucrative, violent and destructive life. Frank built his heroine empire so big that he was able to brand his heroine as “Blue Magic”.
One of the scenes that caught my attention was when Detective Richie Roberts, the policeman who wanted to catch Frank, mentioned Frank’s habits to other detectives. Frank would routinely go to church with his mother and have family dinners. There was even a scene where Frank was leading his family in asking the Lord to bless the food at the dinner table.
His “sacrifices” of church attendance and saying grace at dinner time were only superficial
activities to mask the true nature of his heart and lifestyle…full of selfishness, violence, greed, lies, and a disregard for the value of a human life.
Sometimes, even as Christians, we wear masks to hide what’s really in our hearts. We smile at others, while attacking them with our thoughts. We attend church service and then “assassinate” the character of others while gossiping in the parking lot. We workout and exercise while allowing the “cancer” of unforgiveness to spread inside of us. We will wear a “Christian coat” for others to see, only to hide shirts of anger, pride, lust, and envy.
What we forget is that God sees clearly and completely what is in our hearts. Proverbs 20:27 informs us that “The Lord’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts“. Basically, nothing is hidden from Him. There is no mask that the Lord can’t see through. You cannot “sacrifice” enough for Him to bypass what’s in your heart.
King David tried to “mask” his sin with Bathsheba and his conspiracy to have her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11). It wasn’t until the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Samuel 12) that the “mask” of his sin was removed. The result was a dead baby, and chaos in his family for years.
David finally repented, which led him to write Psalms 51.
Ask the Lord to create in you an ethically clean and pure heart. With the trials common in life, you don’t want to be without His presence. Ask Him to restore the joy in Him you had when you were first saved. Be determined to tell and show others about His goodness and His ways. (Psalms 51:10-13). Living a godly and righteous life is more acceptable to the Lord than any sacrifice you can make.