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Worship is not as much about what building we are in participating in it or about what we are doing while we are there. The Word of God clearly teaches that it begins and ends with our relationships. Matthew 5:23-24 clearly states that, "If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." (NASB)
Jesus constantly confronted the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day, regarding their actions that only had the appearance of righteousness. Jesus was never fooled or impressed by deeds of piety from a heart lacking pure motives or lacking right relationships with Himself or others. The Lord does not want us to even seek worship with a heart pretending all is well when it isn't, and He does not regard our prayers when there is unconfessed iniquity dwelling there. We are even warned of the danger of partaking of the Lord's supper when we are harboring unforgiveness or unrepentance in our heart, and the Old Testament taught us by Samuel's reminder to King Saul that "it is better to obey then to sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22 NASB).
Worship is not only about Sunday morning, but it is about our day-to-day living in a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father, Savior, and others. So as we gather together in our sanctuaries to offer praise and honor to our Lord in songs, in tithes and offerings, in attentiveness toward the message being preached, may we remember first to seek forgiveness from those we have sinned against. If we are unwilling to make right the horizontal relationships in our lives, then we are not able to truly worship our Lord and so we might as well stay home in bed. Worship is in every sense about the condition of our heart.
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