The psalmist wrote, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  Psalm 86:11

My friend’s parents live in Hong Kong. During his first visit, his mother informed him of various cultural practices he needed to know about. “When you hand someone something,” she had said, “using only one hand is considered rude. Always hold it with both hands.”

I thought this would be easy but in trying, but in challenge from my friend I found that holding objects with both hands is difficult — both to remember and to do. I’m a fan of multi-tasking and take pride in my ability to do a gazillion things at once. But when required to pass my purchase or my business card or my money with both hands, multi-tasking had to stop. Because my hands could hold only one thing, I was forced to give this action all of my attention.

This made me think about how I sometimes come to God with my “hands” full of many things. I may put down whatever I’m grasping in one hand, but the other keeps clutching some worldly matter — dividing my attention and my heart. What I offer as worship comes from a distracted mind and heart, which, when I think about it, really isn’t worship at all. To worship truly, I must come to God with my whole heart, offered with two hands.