Making Amends Before Offering Worship

In this week’s worship team training, I wanted to focus on making amends before offering worship.

23″Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” -Matthew 5:23-24

Whether you are a part of a worship team or a worshiper, we come to worship with many distractions. One distraction that Jesus wants to make sure you don’t bring with you is tension with another person.

What’s interesting is that you probably remember this verse and thought it said if you had something against your brother, but it’s the opposite. If you understand that someone has something against you, you are still responsible! Jesus doesn’t cut us any slack. If you are the wronger or the wronged, it is your responsibility to make it right.

But why does he want us to leave worship to do this? I think because our worship hinges on the forgiveness of God. And if we rejoice greatly due to our forgiveness, how we can do so without making sure we extend that forgiveness to others or seek that from others.

God isn’t merely honored when we worship him with songs, he wants us to worship him through life. What if the most God-honoring thing you could do in the next worship was leave it? What if you got on your cell phone, what if you went across the auditorium, and did something as radical as fix what is broken?