Often times people hear the word worship and they associate it with the song portion of a church service. Others will tell you that worship is not a song, but a lifestyle. I believe that it is (or can be) both. But the question may arise, "how does worship as a lifestyle look?" Ahh...glad you asked. The other day I was reading about worship in various scriptures. I've read these scriptures many times, read books about it, listened to messages about it, etc. but it never hurts to refresh your memory. So let's talk about some of the things that really stood out to me.
First, let's get a general idea of what worship is for the believer. Worship is attributing worth to God. It is showing reverence and adoration to him. It is being so in awe of God that we desire to do what is pleasing to him (which can be found in the pages of scripture). So it is also an action. Out of the abundance of love we feel for God (as a result of his love for us), there will be a response to who He is. That response takes on many forms. Yes, it can include singing, but singing in and of itself is not true worship. Anyone can sing a so called "worship" song, but if the heart motivation isn't right, it's merely words. John 4:23 tells us that God is a Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. When I think about that I am reminded of a time when I wasn't serving God. I was asked to sing a song in church. Now, I loved to sing, but something inside of me wouldn't allow me to sing a lie. It wouldn't be truthful for me to sing about this awesome God I served when in fact, I wasn't serving him. So I refused. Over the years I have heard many amazing singers sing songs we like to term worship songs, and while they may have done an excellent job, the condition of their heart would be the determining factor as to whether it was actually worship or not.
In the past I have made the statement that obedience is the purest form of worship. It is a futile attempt to worship if we are living a life in opposition to God's word. That's not to say that we will be perfect and never sin. But sin should break out hearts and we should be quick to repent. Worship isn't about going through the motions of religion. Anyone can attend church, sing a song, drop some money into the offering plate, donate to some worthy cause, work in some ministry, etc. But God isn't looking at the outward appearance. He looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). And in order to have a pure motive for worshiping, one must first have a genuine relationship with Christ. When that occurs, the overflow of worship in our life will be the automatic result.
"I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!" Amos 5:21-24
But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22
These verses just confirm to me that God desires obedience, and that he is looking at the heart motive rather than the ritualistic act. Sure, these rituals had their place at that time in history, but without a heart of love for God and obedience to his word, what good were they? And it's the same today. We don't go to church and sing a bunch of songs just so we can call it worship. We're to be imitators of God and to live a life of love. Love for the Father, love for people. Love is demonstrated by our actions, not just words. James 1:22 tells us not to merely listen to the word, but to do it. We're to show mercy, just as we've been shown mercy. I don't know about you, but I could talk all day about the amazing mercy God has shown me. James 2:13 tells us, "because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful." We are to forgive others, as we've been forgiven. Sometimes this may be a bit of a stumbling block for people because they've been hurt or wronged and their anger feels justified. And I can understand how difficult it may be to forgive. Our emotions like to get in the way. But let me remind you that forgiveness isn't about our emotions. It's a choice we make to obey God. And truthfully, forgiving is usually more beneficial to us than it is to the one who has hurt us. I speak from the voice of experience on that one. Years ago I had a situation where someone was lying about me, making threats against me, wanting bad things to happen to me. I will confess that on more than one occasion the redneck in me wanted to rise up and just go beat the girl's butt and be done with it. But I fought the urge. After doing a lot of praying about it, God helped me to pray for and forgive this person even though they hadn't asked for it. Here I am years later and I no longer harbor bad feelings toward this person.
Helping those in need should also be a part of our worship. The Bible speaks often about helping the poor, the widows, the orphans. Someone in need may also be a variety of other things I haven't listed, but I think most of us recognize what need is. It isn't difficult to find someone in need, but often times we make excuses why we can't help them. I confess I've been guilty of it. But I've also laid aside all my excuses and helped someone in need even when it was inconvenient for me to do. It can be quite a challenge, but can be quite rewarding as well.
One of the hardest things to do is to love our enemies. "What? You mean I have to love my enemies; those people who want to do me harm?" Yep...we're told to love our enemies. I realize how difficult this is, but it can be done. It in no way means that we have to love their sinful behaviors though. Let's make that perfectly clear. It's about loving through the eyes of compassion. I mean, think about it...God loved us even while we were enemies. But he had a compassion for us as well. This caused him to go out of his way to show his love. He sent his son Jesus to die for us. It was a sacrificial love. So what does that mean for us? Certainly we're not going to send our child to die for anyone. But what we can do is sacrifice our feelings of hatred for them. Pray for them. Not with a "get 'em God" kind of attitude, but with a sincere desire for God to meet with them and show his love.
All of these things that I've mentioned are spoken of throughout scripture because they are important to God. He is pleased when we do these things, not out of duty or obligation, or for our own recognition, but out of genuine love. Church attendance, praying, and singing aren't something we do for show. They should be done because we have a deep abiding love for God.
The Pharisees adhered to the laws, but God was not pleased with it. Why? Because everything they did was done for men to see. Matthew 23:25-28 says:
"Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!You clean the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of greed and self indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
With those verses in mind, we can clearly see that we need to check our motives for what we do. Who are we trying to impress? Who are we wanting to please? If we're doing things for the applause of men then that alone will be our reward. When we stand in judgment of others for not doing the things we think they should do, we need to take a long look at ourselves. Who are we to play God? Pride comes before a fall. So never assume you've got it all together (as the Pharisees did).
Every aspect of our lives can be acts of worship when done as unto the Lord. So even those things I may not have mentioned can be acts of worship. It's all in the attitude of the heart.
Something Louie Giglio wrote in the book "The Air I Breathe" really stands out to me. He says, "It's a lot easier to sing a song than to stop and touch the broken. It's a lot less taxing to go to church than to take the church to the world. But sharing with others is a sacrifice of worship that makes God smile."
Worship is about sacrifice. It will cost you something. Whether its humbling yourself, spending time in the presence of God, studying his word, giving of your time and talent, your finances, giving up your right to be angry at those who've hurt you, loving the unlovely, etc. No one can make the sacrifice for you. 2 Samuel 24:24 says, "But the king replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. ' So David brought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them."
I've often heard people say, "fake it till you make it." Sometimes that's what we have to do. You may not feel like doing it, but do it anyway. The feelings will come if you have a true desire to please God.
Just remember that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice. Anything we offer in return pales in comparison.
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