Worship
(I wrote this for my girls when they were young teenagers.)
We often think of worship in such elementary ways that we fail to look past the typical thoughts on the subject into the depths of what worship really is. We look at it mostly from the perspective of what it means to me, instead of how God views it.
As we talked about worship, I had a few things I wanted you to consider:
First, when we think of worship, we usually think of Sunday mornings, but real worship can take place at any time. Some of my best times of worship have been by myself, sometimes late at night, sometimes early in the morning. Worship is not really about a particular time of week.
Second, when we think of worship, we usually think of us singing to God, but real worship goes far beyond singing. It may involve singing, but the essence of worship is not the singing itself. It may express itself in singing, but there is always something behind the singing. Worship is not really about my voice.
Third, when we think of worship, we usually think of what takes place at the church building. But I can think of wonderful times of worship that have taken place skiing down a mountain, sitting on the beach, looking down on the clouds from inside an airplane, and even sitting in a closet. Worship is not really about where I am.
Fourth, when we think of worship, we usually think of intense, positive, emotional feelings. Oftentimes, the emphasis is really upon the feelings. And while there certainly is nothing wrong with those feelings (since God created us that way), we have to recognize that worship itself is not equal to feelings. And if we need the feelings to take us to higher levels of “worship,” then aren’t we seeking the feeling more than we are seeking God? We then seek the feeling, because it makes us “feel” good, so in essence, we seek to please ourselves in worship, thus negating the very thing we are trying to accomplish. Our worship has then turned inward instead of outward. Hebrews 13:15 speaks of the “sacrifice of praise.” Sacrifices don’t usually have positive emotional feelings that go with them, and yet, there is a time to sacrificially praise God (2 Samuel 12:20). This kind of worship is about submission, not feelings. Worship is not really about how I am feeling.
Here’s the part I REALLY want you to get: Worship isn’t so much about how I sing or what I do at church on Sunday mornings or where I am or how I feel. Worship is about HOW I LIVE! Real worship takes place when I choose to live how God calls me to live or when I choose to obey Him, even when I would rather not. Real worship involves what I actually do with my life and how I actually live, rather than how or what I sing, or the positive feelings that I may feel. If we can think of worship as “love,” then Jesus says several times in John 14 (verses 15, 21, & 23), that if we truly love Him, we will obey Him. For Jesus, that was the highest form of worship. So worship takes place when I give to the poor, share His love, meet a need, reach out in love to another, give sacrificially, listen to the lonely, pray with the hurting, hug the untouchable, and encourage the faint hearted. In doing those things, I am stating that God and His plan are more valuable and more important to me than myself or my plan. And in so doing, my actions become worship because my life is not about me, but about Him. And that’s what genuine worship is.
Years ago, there was a TV commercial where two older ladies ordered a hamburger at a fast food restaurant. When they got their burger, they looked under the bun and said to the worker behind the register, “Where’s the beef?” It was a comment regarding the small, insignificant piece of meat they had been given. I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t look at our worship and silently ask us, “Where’s the beef?”