Pervasive Worship

Let me be candid.  It’s a daunting and humbling task for me to write on the subject of worship.  Even though I have spent the majority of my life “leading worship” and the last several years trying to define what that really means, I am still hard-pressed  to compact it into the neat little box of a definition.  One of the most difficult hurdles in writing on the matter is this: everyone has their own opinions on what worship is and those opinions drive the way they follow Christ.

This is dangerous ground, people.  And it’s very telling of the nature of worship.  It’s pervasive and extends into the far reaches of our thoughts and actions.  Harold Best writes that we are unceasingly worshiping.  God created us in a way that we are constantly ascribing worth to everything we know.   Those things we place a value on above our own, we worship.  And I can see this played out in my own life.  Where does my money go?  Where does my time go?  Maybe I’m not chasing the latest fashion trends or taking on a second job to afford a new car that I don’t need, but am I more consumed with self preservation than the cause of Christ?  Most of the time, unfortunately.

So, I’m just going to forego the necessity of explaining that worship extends beyond the songs we sing on Sunday morning.  Just to keep it brief, worship is the goal, music CAN BE the vehicle.  It isn’t the exclusive expression of worship, but it is one way to honor God.  So how then do we have such a difficult time with music in our churches?  Obviously no matter if you’re given a Lexus or a Pinto to drive, you’ll make it to your destination.  So then I would say the fuss is about the car we’re driving (not literally. Stay with the analogy).

What’s happening is that we are chasing our fulfilled desires and calling it worship.  We want to feel a certain way in a service.  We want to dress a certain way.  We want to hear a certain style of music or preaching.  But what is the true worship of God?  I would say that it is the total yielding of one’s self to Christ because of who God is.  Anything less is idolatry.  Believing that worship is inherent to a specific time and place and in a certain context falls way, way short of the worship of God.  In fact, it’s the worship of our own desires and perceived needs.  When we have been called to sacrifice our lives [Rom. 12.1], constraints like that don’t matter anymore.

The catalyst needs to be our love of God.  That will drive us towards obedience, which is the essence of worship.  Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 22.37-40.  He says “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind…”, because obedience begins with understanding who God is and putting your faith in Him.  But how can we trust him if we don’t know him?  The good news is that God has revealed himself to us through his Word [John 1.14-18].  We have an opportunity to know God, and through it be transformed into creatures who earnestly seek His will[Rom.12.2].  This is the beginning of the true worship of God.

Start with the Psalms.  Daily.  There is an endless depth of the character of God found in Israel’s hymnbook.

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Sources/ Suggested Readings :

Harold Best, Unceasing Worship. John Frame, Worship in Spirit and Truth.

Tags: idolatry, thoughts, worship