"WHAT DOES GOD NEED?"
That may seem an unusual question. However, in the minds of many people they approach what they do for God as though God needed them to do it. Hence, when they give their money or show up at a worship service, God truly must be happy because of what they gave or what they did. This is the idea that Jesus dealt with in one of the parables that He taught. The parable concerned those who saw themselves as righteous while despising others (Luke 18:9).
Two men went to the temple to pray. Right place and certainly the right idea about worshipping God, that is through prayer. The Pharisee in the parable thanked God that he was not like other men. He listed some of the sins of evil men and how that he, the Pharisee was not guilty of any of this kind of immoral behavior (verse 11). It is significant that Jesus uses the words that this man "prayed thus with himself" In other words, he was not praying to God. He was letting God know how happy God should be to have this man on God?s side.
He then moves to explain to God what all that he does. He fasts and gives tithes (verse 12). Note he give tithes of all that he possesses. Here is man that is not like other evil men and he is a fine example of fasting and of tithing. The fasting and tithing should have been done. The rejection of evil living should likewise be practiced. However, this parable is about men who trust in themselves. God should be glad to have them. It is now that we need to consider some things about worship.
Paul on one occasion was on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22). He was meeting with some Epicureans and Stoicks (verse 18). He tells them their worship is false. He points out an idol to the unknown God and uses that to begin telling them about the true God (verse 23). Paul affirms that God created the world and all things therein (verse 24; Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16). He then moves in verse 25 to explain that God is not worshipped with men's hands as though He needed anything. This brings home, or at least it should, that God is the object of worship but it is the worshipper who receives the blessing. If you or I refused to ever worship God again it would not in any way change the truth of Who God is or what God is like.
God gives, Paul explains, to all men life, breath and all things. The most wretched sinner who lives cannot live without the laws that God has put into place. In that sense all men are blessed by God. James makes this same point. If a person lacks wisdom he is to ask of God. What is the record of God? God gives to all men liberally (James 1:5). James is not saying that people of the world can ask for wisdom from God and receive it. Only those who are in covenant relationship with God have their prayers answered (John 9:31; Ephesians 1:3). James is simply telling us that God gives liberally to all men. The physical world then is blessed by the laws that God has established to maintain life on earth.
Does God want us to worship Him? Of course He does. He desires for all men to be saved (II Peter 3:9). Men are saved by obeying the truth which God reveals (I Peter 1:22). Since we can grieve the Spirit of God then heaven is touched by actions contrary to God's will (Ephesians 4:30). It is not like God is in heaven and cannot be touched by the wrong doing of humanity and His children in particular. We do touch the heart of God by our actions. It grieves God when people will not worship and serve Him. However, that is not like saying we are not expendable. Some will be consigned to hell because of the lives they lived. There is no pleasure for God to have to condemn them to such a place.
At times I fear we see God through some kind of "filtered glasses of love". We see God as a God of love, which He is. Then some make a fatal error. They assume because God is love that He will not condemn anyone. They view it as, "God needs me". The love of God defines how much WE NEED God. Such thinking leads us to serve God out of love because of all He has done for us and all He will continue to do.