Worship

     When I was younger and unsaved, my definition of worship was “the part of church when we sing.”  After all, the person who ‘led the worship’ just meant that they were in charge of the music that day.  I had never come across the word ‘worship’ in any other setting, so naturally, the music at church was all that worship was to me.  

     That being the case, worship was usually boring.  Since all worship was was church music, if I didn’t like the music, I didn’t like worship.  Songs that were slow and just dragged on and on, or kept repeating the same thing over and over, or said a lot of things I didn’t understand, all made me want the music to stop so we could just sit down.  Some people really got into it, raising their hands and stuff, but I didn't understand why. If someone would have asked me what I thought of worship, I probably would have said something like, “It’s okay, I guess.  Depends on the songs.”  And indeed, there were some songs I enjoyed.  Fast ones that sounded happy and got people clapping were fun.  Did I know or care what the songs meant?  Eh, not really.  It was just part of church: we sang for twenty minutes, we listened to someone talk for forty minutes, and then--joy of joys!--we went home and could change out of our good clothes.

     Naturally, when I met Jesus and became born-again, He changed quite a bit about me.  I saw things differently, and really perceived them for the first time.  But my working definition of worship was still “the part of church when we sing.”  I believe that there may be many others who still have this idea of worship, both Christians and not.  The fact is, worship is far, far more than that.

The dictionary defines worship as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.”  It doesn’t even mention music.  What worship is really about, at it’s core, is respect and love.  Therefore, worship isn’t limited to church or even God.  

     In Exodus 34:14, God says “(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God).”  When God says something, He means it.  Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. (Romans 3:4)  God wants to be the only recipient of our worship, and He is more than worthy of that.  Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! (1 Chronicles 16:29).  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. (Psalm 95:6)

     So if God wants to be the only one we worship, and He is so worthy of it, then how do we give it?  What is it, exactly?  As I said before, it is truly about love and respect, just on a bigger scale.  How do you show love or respect to anyone?  There are a lot of ways.  One that’s very important is simply spending time with God.  Studying the Bible and praying are great ways to do that.  Listen for His voice while you pray.  Respect Him enough to not do all the talking.  Just tell Him how much you love Him.  Actions speak louder than words; show Him respect and love through obeying His Word.  Love Him enough to love others by forgiving, lending a hand, telling them about God, and encouraging them.  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ (Matthew 25:40)  All of these things are worship!

     So where does music fit into the picture?  Music, these patterns of sounds at various frequencies, holds a mysterious power over the human soul.  It can make us smile, feel empowered, cause us to sorrow, or bring up memories long forgotten.  Often, it gives us a medium to express things more passionately and poignantly than we otherwise could.  It is a very spiritual thing.  As such, it can be an amazing way to connect with God, to tell Him of how we love Him, and to praise Him for how powerful and holy He is.  And that is indeed worship.  Over and over again in the psalms, David exhorts the people to worship God through music.  Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.  (Psalm 98:4)

     Jesus spoke about worship early on in His ministry, during a conversation with one of the unlikeliest of people.  She was a Samaritan woman with a bad track record with relationships.  These three things made her the kind of person someone like Jesus, a Jewish man and holy teacher, would never talk to.  But He engaged with her; then she brought up a religious debate about the proper location for worship.  [Jesus said to her] “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)  Jesus is telling her very clearly that God cares more about people sincerely worshiping God, from the core of their beings, than about where their bodies are.  But I think that He is saying more, simply through who He’s speaking with.  Through Jewish standards of the time, a woman, a sinner, and a Samaritan are all types of people men in Jesus’ position would never have deigned to even look at.  But Jesus, the Son of God, did.  Through this, I believe He is saying that God will accept worship from anyone, no matter their level of musical talent, place in society, race, gender, past choices, age, or any other factor.  Worship is for all people, for all people were created to worship.

Worship connects us with God, and let me tell you, there is no more fulfilling thing in the entire universe.  It excels the high of any drug, it satisfies more than the greatest achievements, it is more glorious than all the world’s wealth and wonders a hundred times over.  I do not exaggerate.  To even catch a glimpse of the beauty of our Lord leaves one speechless.  When anyone takes on a lifestyle of worship, of loving and honoring God in all that they do, they will reap wonderful benefits, love, joy and peace among them.  Not to mention Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  

A final word of caution: be careful that God is always the focus of your worship, as worship is about love and respect, and there is much in life both to love and respect.  One may love and respect their family, or their work, and that can be very good.  We often have a great deal of respect for the latest technology, our phones and our music.  We show our love for Facebook by the amount of time spent on it (or is that just me?).  I definitely love and respect my church.  But Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26)  He is saying that our love for Him should be so strong that our love for anything else must be hate by comparison.  When our level of love and respect for anything comes even close to our level of love and respect for God, we’re bordering idolatry.  It’s as simple as that.  We need to take care to periodically examine our hearts for anything that may be competing with God for our worship.

I hope that with this piece, God has helped you to see worship in a different light, as He did with me.  May you all be blessed to experience the fulfillment that comes from life in Christ.  Glory to His name!  Amen.

All Scripture taken from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.