Psalm 50 cuts through the noise of empty ritual and gets to the core of what God truly wants from us- genuine worship.

God doesn’t need us to sacrifice animals to him- he already owns all the beasts of the forest and all the cattle of the hills and all the birds of the sky. God doesn’t need anything that we can give him, there is nothing we can offer him that he doesn't already have.

Verses 14-15 say, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.“ God’s desire is for our hearts to be turned towards him. He asks for thanksgiving and for us to call on him when we’re in trouble, to remember that we depend on him so that He can help us.

This Psalm is a great reminder that there is no use in just going through the motions. Our spiritual practices shouldn’t be a show to look good in front of others, nor is our faith a series of boxes to check to make sure we’re being Christian enough. Our faith is a relationship with a real and true God who loves us and wants us to come to him.