The Goldilocks Syndrome

“True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

Most of us are familiar with the fairy tale about a young lady named Goldilocks. I’m assuming from her name that this fictional character had long blond hair. We also know she was hungry and sleepy. And she entered her neighbor’s house, uninvited, when the family wasn’t home.
Putting the breaking and entering aside, what else do we know about Goldilocks? I think if she were really starving, she would have eaten the first bowl of soup she came to. And if she were really that tired, she would have been able to sleep on the couch.

But we all know the first bowl of soup was too hot, the second was too cold, but the third was “just right” – at least according to Goldie’s taste. The same is true for the beds. One was too hard and another was too soft. But she finally found one that was “just right”.

Does Goldilocks remind you of anyone? I mean, it all seems to be about her. She doesn’t seem to consider the family that lives in the house or their personal property. And when she finds what she’s looking for – food and furniture – it’s rarely good enough. She is driven more by her own preferences and tastes than anything else.

One reason some people don’t find joy in worship is that they approach church the way Goldilocks approached that cabin. They don’t bring anything of value to it, but only see what they can get out of it. And even then, they aren’t satisfied with everything that’s available to them.

The tabernacle, and later the temple, was not built so people could come and get something. It was God’s way of providing His people with a place where they could come and bring something. The books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy are all about how the people were to bring things to God, not get things from Him.

That would be a fresh approach to worship for some people – see what they could bring to the experience, not see what they could get out it. It’s usually not the sermon, the style of worship, or the length of the service that makes or breaks the church service. It’s the attitude of the worshiper. When we actually bring something of value to the “temple” we are in a place to experience the presence of God and what true worship is.