A group of men comes in their cars to a place of worship, well past midnight. They woke up the priest, demanding to open the gate. As he opened the gate, he was beaten. Then these men entered, performed the rituals and worshipped, and left. (NDTV 13 April 2025) When people do not know the True God, His attributes, and His requirements, there would be such atrocious and arrogant spirituality.
Time: The gang was not on time. When their language teaches that the past and future are the same, having the same word (kal in Hindi) for both, people do not see time as a gift of God. Most people think being late is not a mistake or offence. If a person is 30 minutes late, he has robbed each person of 30 minutes who is waiting for him. It is a lack of courtesy and robbing, a violation of the Ten Commandments.
Discipline: The gang was not disciplined, unruly, and went there after midnight. It was rather unorthodox to go to a place of worship at that odd time.
Lawlessness: They could have silently come back. Instead, they dared to make the priest open the gates, and the priest was also beaten up. The way they treat God shows how they respect their god? If a priest is considered a representative of God, how could he be beaten up for no fault?
Expectations: They expected God to bless them for their devotion, rituals, and worship, ignoring their behavior of late-coming, demanding gates to be opened, and beating up the priest.
False worship: In many cultures, worship is external. The importance of rituals, methods, external formalities, and correct articulation of the mantra. There is no expectation of moral change, righteous living, or holy life. Hence, these people misbehave everywhere, which is indiscipline and lawlessness.
True God and True Worship: The Bible teaches that God is Holy. Those who worship Him should do so in the Fear of God, tremble in his presence, with humility, splendor of holiness, in truth and spirit. (Psalms 96:9; 114:7; John 4:24)
Do I worship the Lord in truth, spirit, and holiness?