“He who walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who takes crooked paths despises Him.“ — Proverbs 14:2

One of the things I dislike the most is when Christians show irreverence in church. Those who always arrive in the middle of worship as if nothing happened, those who chat during the sermon, those who joke at the back of the church during the altar call, those who enter the church as if they were walking into a supermarket, those who are careless, and so on.

The more we show reverence in matters concerning the Lord, the easier it will be for us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:3). The problem is that, generally speaking, children and young people are no longer taught what reverence is. So, when they grow up and come to church, they don’t know how to behave. Even some preachers and worship leaders know nothing about reverence. They don’t know how to conduct themselves and think that church should be festive, jovial, and “cool.”

However, we cannot be “cool” in church as if we were attending a theater play. We are not before actors; we are before the Almighty God, who deserves the highest honor. I sometimes visit a church in the west of France, and when I enter, I feel a deep respect for the Lord, a fear and reverence for God. It is so wonderful! Instantly, one enters into the presence of God.

I have visited other churches, and all I could feel was the flesh. Sometimes, all that is felt is merely human organization, without anointing. When I am in church, I am not there to meet people; I am there to encounter the Lord. I am then extremely focused and show the highest possible reverence. I make it a priority.

I pray: I want to learn to be pleasing to You in every way and not to handle holy things with irreverence…

This text is an excerpt from the book “365 Days at the Heart of Proverbs“ written by Jérémy Sourdril.

We invite you to read the following article: “Knowing the Fear of God and God Himself“.