Zechariah 7:4-5

The searing way God asks His question penetrates to the core and lays bare all pretense. The people were doing a good work in terms of fasting, but God’s searching and lingering question exposes that it was essentially an empty gesture because He was not the true focus. The people undoubtedly would have claimed that of course they did it for Him, yet His question rhetorically signifies that He was not really the object of what they did.

Let’s fit ourselves into this scenario. We, too, can pray and study out of habit. Those are good and necessary habits, and yet we could be checking a daily box rather than really drawing closer to God. We can keep the Sabbath and go to the Feast, and yet not honor Him with our observances. We can serve our brethren and show kindness to our neighbors, and yet these things may not truly be for Him—not really for Him. Many good and necessary spiritual works can be performed out of self-interest.