False worship with good intentions

In this holiday season, I've been thinking about the pros and cons of celebrating Christmas. Three different Bible stories came to mind:

Cain

During a group Bible study about Cain and Abel, one commented that this was the first example of the wrong persecuting the right for religious reasons. I'd never thought of it in those terms before. Here was Cain, the horticulturist, offering the best he had, the results of the labor of his own hands. His brother Abel, the shepherd, could offer the fruit of his own labor, so why couldn't he? On top of that, giving fruits and veggies was more of a sacrifice in those days, because meat had not yet become a part of the diet, so what good was a lamb other than for wool? It was no big sacrifice to give a lamb. Cain was thinking, "I'm making a bigger sacrifice, from my own heart. This will please God." 

Cain wanted to change God's Word to accommodate his own life. I thought, In what ways do I choose to worship and honor God in my own way instead of the way He has asked me to?

King Saul

"To obey is better than sacrifice" was the message of God to King Saul, when he wanted to "buy" his standing with God, perhaps in the same way that many use the confessional these days: to knowingly go against God's Word with the belief that the priest's absolvement will make everything right. Judging by Saul's actions, he thought giving sacrifices actually brought forgiveness of sins, not understanding the why behind the sacrifices, that they were an object lesson that should lead the sinner to abhor sin, to understand that God was the Forgiver. Saul went against God's instruction, thinking his many sacrifices would set the balances in his direction, giving so much that it wouldn't matter that he had disobeyed.

How many of us, even without active thought, think that our good lives or our care for others will make up for blatantly going against God's Word?

Uzzah

One morning I was studying the story of Uzzah being struck dead for merely touching the ark in an attempt to save it from falling, and I felt how solemn a story it is -- how it shows that God can't accept worship or service that is done contrary to His revealed will, even if the people have good intentions in doing it. It is expressed well in this paragraph:

"David and his people had assembled to perform a sacred work, and they had engaged in it with glad and willing hearts; but the Lord could not accept the service, because it was not performed in accordance with His directions. The Philistines, who had not a knowledge of God’s law, had placed the ark upon a cart when they returned it to Israel, and the Lord accepted the effort which they made. But the Israelites had in their hands a plain statement of the will of God in all these matters, and their neglect of these instructions was dishonoring to God. Upon Uzzah rested the greater guilt of presumption. Transgression of God’s law had lessened his sense of its sacredness, and with unconfessed sins upon him he had, in face of the divine prohibition, presumed to touch the symbol of God’s presence. God can accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His commandments. By the judgment upon Uzzah He designed to impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to His requirements. Thus the death of that one man, by leading the people to repentance, might prevent the necessity of inflicting judgments upon thousands." PP 705.3

As clearly as that is said, it is hard to take, isn't it? For so long Christians leaned so heavily on teaching the law and the danger of hellfire, that now, seeing our error, we are bending over backwards to show the love of God, His forgiveness, His mission of salvation. This story just doesn't seem to fit our new understanding. Yet it is in the Bible, and there is a message for us: God wishes to be worshiped in the way that He has said. I don't believe God is making a "Do this or else" statement without reason behind it.

What is the reason God gave us instructions on how to worship him? One is that if we don't, little by little, imperceptibly over the years, we can stray so far from His plan for us to enjoy happy and fulfilling lives, that we can end up worshiping His creation instead of Him, worshiping Him in ways that those who don't believe in Him worship their own gods, or even, as ancient Israel, end up sacrificing our children to gods of our own choosing.

It is revealing to study the history of Christmas in light of Israel's constant falling away from God. Each time they made a little change, they might have been saying to themselves, "The nations around us have an innovative way to worship their gods that we can incorporate into worship of the True God," and thus they started down the slippery slope.

We all know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25, that it was a pagan celebration that wasn't officially incorporated into the church for several hundred years, about the same time that Sunday worship became official in the church. Both Sunday and Christmas came into the church for the same reason: to help nonChristians feel at home in their new religion. Christian reasons were given for observing the day and to explain the symbols of the day. Does it matter that ancient pagans had a different understanding behind the symbols of Christmas that we take for granted?

The excuse most will make for observing Christmas, with all its decorations and celebrations, even when they know its history, is, "But it doesn't mean that to me!" If your intent is to worship God, and you have no thought of ever worshiping anyone but God, it doesn't matter, right?

Before deciding on the answer, consider the stories of Cain, King Saul, and Uzzah, who thought they could choose their own way to follow God's will.