Fix it first!

Have you ever gone to church and sat down for worship and had something pop into your head? A feeling of having done someone wrong, or having done something that may be robbing someone else of their joy or opportunity to worship that day. Something that may have been simple, and not bothered you up until that point. Well, Jesus addresses that very issue in Matthew chapter 5.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
To me the most important word in this passage is remember. It is not telling us to stop in the parking lot and think about the whole week, and then get the cellphone out and call anyone who you may have done something wrong to that past week or so. It says remember, meaning that it is something that will pop up in your conscience, a conscience which as a believer is driven by the Holy Spirit. In other words, if the Holy Spirit lays something on your heart, get up and go fix it right then or as soon as you have the chance to. You have nothing to offer God by way of worship and neither does the other person until it has been reconciled. In ignoring the Holy Spirit you are in a sense robbing yourself of worship.
I've been there, I've experienced this both ways. I've been done wrong, badly and actually had to sit in worship facing the person who did me wrong and no matter how hard I prayed, no matter how much I did, it placed me in a frame of mind where worship was not 100%. I have also been put in a situation where I handled everything correctly, everyone told me I did, but I did get that prompting of the Holy Spirit just before church. I got up and went to that person before the service and told him I was sorry for what had happened the day before and I wanted to apologize for any way that I may have hurt him, or done him wrong. He did not accept and would not speak, but I was able to worship because I had done exactly what God calls for in this verse. So it's about following the Spirit's leading, not about digging through your closet and cleaning it out every Sunday. God will lead you through the Holy Spirit and you will "remember" the things that need immediate attention.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!