Gerhard and Walther

When God the Lord says in the First Commandment, I am the Lord your God, you are not to have any other gods, He thereby requires fear and also obedience. For since He is our Lord and God who has the right to command us, thus we are indeed also obligated to render Him obedience.—Johann Gerhard, Schola Pietatis III:241.

Many work so zealously it appears as if they are on the earth merely for the sake of their vocation. They are so engrossed in their work they think little, if at all, about the salvation of their immortal soul. They forget God’s Word, and they forget to pray. They work on the Lord’s Day even when they are not in need as if they had no soul that needs to be fed and no God who wants to be worshipped. Even if such people take time to read the Bible, offer morning and evening prayers, and go to church, they do so only half-heartedly. In the midst of the worship service, their heart is still at their business.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 554.