It is vain to serve God?

Malachi 3:13-15
13 “ Your words have been harsh against Me,”
Says the LORD,

“ Yet you say,

‘ What have we spoken against You?’
14 You have said,

‘ It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the LORD of hosts?
15 So now we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are raised up;
They even tempt God and go free.’”


God tells the Jews that they have spoken harshly against Him. But the Jews deny this, questioning God at His word.

The Jews show their arrogance and openly display their anger towards God. Their attitude betrays a transactional view towards their relationship with God. They think that God should bless them. Why? Because they have kept His ordinances.

They are angry that they have done so and yet have not profited from it. To rub salt into their wounds, the proud have been blessed, and those who are wicked get away with it - escaping punishment by God. So they conclude that it is useless to serve God.

Do Christians today also think in this manner?

That God should bless us because we have attended church services, gone for cellgroup meetings and tithed faithfully?

That God should favour us because we have kept the 10 commandments, said the Lord's Prayer every night, and gone on mission trips?

That God should reward us because we have served in ministry for years, attended the rally of every Christian speaker that passed through the country, and sung our hearts out during praise and worship services?

That we should expect blessings and fortunes because we did all those things?

That we have the right to be angry at God if He does not bless us after all our efforts for Him?


Oh, the arrogance of such foolish human thinking.


If we expect such transactional behaviour from God, then we really have thought too lowly of God. We would really have missed out God's heartbeat entirely.


God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us so that we, sinners, could be restored to a full eternal loving relationship with Him. In Jesus, we have the full revelation of God's love and sacrifice that saves us from God's righteous judgment on sinners.

Christ's sacrifice and resurrection speaks of grace, redemption and restoration. Our response is through repentance, grounded in faith that leads to good works. It is manifested in the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.


Oftentimes, the sermon preached from the pulpit is that of blessing, wealth and prosperity for Christians. Such a message is but a pale version of the Gospel.


We need to turn back to the cross of Calvary and rediscover God in His fullness.