Bored with God

Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD (Malachi 1:13).

Weary of Worshiping God

In the above verse, God was speaking to the nation of Judah. About 50,000 Jews had returned from the Babylonian captivity and the Temple was rebuilt under Zerubbabel in 516 B.C. Subsequently, the sacrificial system was re-instituted under Ezra and Nehemiah in 458-445 B.C.

Nehemiah returned to Persia for about nine years and the people became lazy in their offering of sacrifices to the Lord. As a result, the Lord commissioned the prophet Malachi, in about 430 B.C., to call them back to the Him.

The people of Israel had become bored with their worship of the Lord and considered it weariness. The sacrifices of the Mosaic Law had become meaningless to them, expressed in the lame, sick, and stolen animals offered for the sacrifices. The Law demanded that the sacrifices be pure and without spot or blemish, as a picture of the coming Messiah. However, the people neglected these directives.

Indifference to God

While God promised the Israelites that the Redeemer was coming (2:17-3:5), He sharply rebuked them and called them to repent of their indifference. An indifference of the worship of God in Judah translated into indifference to God Himself.

God would not accept unclean offerings for two reasons. First, they were unclean of themselves because they came from flawed animals. Second, the offerings were unclean because the hearts of the priests and people were unclean and unacceptable. Their God-given sacrificial system became mere ritual – thing to do – and was pointless and vain to them where it once held meaning.

Modern-Day Correlation

We see this same worship indifference today in many churches. We try to hype things up with fast-paced music, fancy lighting, coffee houses service, entertainment, sermonettes, skits, and other forms of compromise.

We do this because we are bored with God. In fact, I not too long ago witnessed this it a church I attended. As I looked around, I saw plenty of people who were bored. And this despite the fact that the message was solid! That people could be bored when the Word of God was being admirably preached is not the fault of God or His Word, but with the hearts of people who call themselves Christians.

Why are so many Christians bored with God? How did we arrive here?

Lack of Love

We arrived the same way Judah did. We don't love God! We take for granted what He has given us, mock the good things from His hand, and church leadership does not take their responsibility seriously.

In Judah, the priests caused the nation to stumble. I say this with a broken heart. As a teacher and pastor, I fully understand that leadership must realize that we have more accountability before God, and that He always begins with the purity of His people (James 3:1; 1 Peter 4:17).

If the hearts of the leaders are not passionate for God and His glory, and if we don't proclaim His Word for His glory, the flock suffers. How we view God determines how we live our lives!

What about you? Do we take God for granted, or do you deeply love Him? Are you thankful not merely for what He has given you, but for who He is? How can we be bored with the infinite, almighty, omnipotent, and all-knowing God who has given us His Word and sent His Son to die in our place?

We are bored because we do not know His character, and therefore we do not love Him. We do not seek Him because we have a low view of Him. We have a low view of Him because we do not study His word.

May God bring a revival to His Church, that we may burn up the boredom and ignite our zeal and love for Him!

Dr. Michael Weis is a pastor, video operator, editor and social media manager at Zion's Hope.