"Sorry, I Can't Help You."

The Word of God must govern the lives of every Christian and the activities of every church. It must be made the sole authority in all matters. It must never be set aside for trendy fads, traditions, or modern thinking. Christians and churches who do otherwise are hypocrites and their worship means nothing to God.

"Jesus replied,

'You hypocrites!

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you,

for he wrote,

"These people honour me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce,

for they teach man-made ideas

as commands from God."

For you ignore God's law

and substitute your own tradition.'

Then he said, 'You skillfully sidestep God's law

in order to hold on to your own tradition.

For instance, Moses gave you this law from God:

"Honour your father and mother,"

and "anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father and mother

must be put to death."

But you say it is all right for people

to say to their parents, "Sorry, I can't help you.

For I have vowed to give to God

what I would have given to you."

In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.

And so you cancel the Word of God
in order to hand down your own tradition.

And this is only one example among many others.'"

Mark 7:6-13 (NLT)

Jesus gave only one example of how a person can cancel the Word of God, but He said there are many.

Here is a list of some examples I see today:

• Worship leaders, musicians, singers, and sound people disregarding the elderly people's complaints that the music is too loud and hurts their ears, saying instead, "Get over it and stop complaining. You're just trying to cause trouble."
• Church leaders and pastors being annoyed when the frail complain that the lights are too dim, which causes them to be fearful of falling and injuring themselves when entering and leaving the building.
• Pastors, ushers, and congregators being irritated when mothers bring their babies and toddlers into the main service instead of the nursery, saying, when these young children cry or start to make noises, "You are disturbing the sanctity of the service!"
• Church leaders, musicians, singers, and pastors being outraged at someone for suggesting a modest dress code, arguing instead, "We have freedom in Christ to wear whatever clothes we choose," and "God made us sexual; why should we hide it?"
• Church goers proudly giving their ten percent to their church to help cover the enormous mortgage, the inevitable day-to-day expenses, and the salaries of the many pastors and paid Church workers, after which only a small portion is left to go to the poor and needy.
• People saying, "I am called by God to the work of the Church, which entitles me to a substantial wage and an honourable title."
• Churches building indoor coffee shops or setting up tables to fulfil people's desire to socialize before and during the service instead of worshipping God.
• Churches attaching price tags to functions such as children's camps, Vacation Bible Schools, boys and girls clubs, retreats, dinners, concerts, and drama productions, saying instead, "We can't afford to do these things for free." How can they not? Charging money prevents these functions from being outreaches to the poor, lost, and unsaved in the community, even though many of these people are dying each day and entering eternity in hell.
• Church goers neglecting to financially help a needy neighbour or family member, saying, "I've already done my duty; I've given my ten percent to my church." But have they actually given their money to God? Or to an empire?

We must ask ourselves regularly if we are in any way ignoring God's Law in order to hold onto our own ways, our own way of thinking and our own little kingdoms — because if we are, we are hypocrites and our worship is a farce.