One of the reasons God sent Amos to the northern kingdom of Israel was to rebuke them for their disregard for genuine worship of God.

We can’t fool God.  He knows the difference between a fact and a fake.  Genuine and pretentious.

It is easy to skim over the biblical passages citing God’s abhorrence of fake, ritualistic worship. But we should heed them with great fear.  In Amos 5:21, God thunders,

I hate, I despise all your pretense – the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.

One scholar offered commentary on why God used both “hate” and “despise” to describe his disgust for pretentious worship.  He states:

Two Hebrew words here combine to express the attitude more forcefully than either could by itself.  The result can be translated, “I reject with utter hatred.”

May our worship of the Almighty be always humble and sincere.  nw