One question that had been asked last night was on why we were here. I wanted to save that for tonight, because I believe there is so much to that that cannot easily be expressed in a paragraph or two. I wanted that to have its own writing. My answer was that we are here to worship and glorify God.
That is seen as egotistical, but that is a misunderstanding. God is to be worshipped not because he wants it but because he deserves it. It is not egotistical for a general in the army to expect to be saluted by his troops because since he has that rank, he deserves it. God deserves the worship not just for rank though, but for who he is, the most perfect being of all.
In fact, God is not the beneficiary in worship. It is we who are benefited. When we worship God, we are then acknowledging that he is who he is and in fact, we are who we are. We are realizing our place in the universe and reflecting his glory. God is not diminished if we refuse to worship him. We are the ones who miss out though if we fail to live the way we were meant to.
Yet an interesting rejoinder came in. I work with another who is in ministry training and my friend last night said that this other said that we are here for more than worship. If it wasn’t so, there wouldn’t be other things that God put on Earth for us to do. I can understand how someone would think that, but I think it reflects a misunderstanding of what worship is.
<> We often think worship is what we do on a Sunday morning or evening when we go to the worship service. There are times reserved for that kind of worship, but worship is not an action performed at a specific time. Worship is a way of life. The way you live is making you to praise the things of God or to abhor them.
So does God give us several things to enjoy? Yes. That is an act of worship as well though. As I write this, I am enjoying a nice can of Sprite and I consider that an act of worship. My typing on this computer can be considered an act of worship as I try to live in service to him. A man working hard at his job and doing it well is doing an act of worship.
This includes other areas of your life as well. How you treat your family is an act of worship. A husband and wife celebrating their love intimately for the first time on their honeymoon is an act of worship. Admiring artwork and beauty in all of its forms is an act of worship. Learning the truth about Christ and all he’s done is worship.
This must be learned by us and even myself. All that we do is worship, or rather, is supposed to be. An act of sin can hardly be considered an act of worship. If we rest and trust in Christ instead of worrying about the things of this world, then we are worshipping him.
Just think about it. What could be more of a life of worship to God than just trust in him and what he has done and believing on his promises? Could this be why our anxiety with our problems vanishes when we are truly in worship? We are recognizing him for who he is at that point and we for who we are and we submit to him in joy and realize that we can trust his leadership.
I also think truth is quite essential to this. We can’t say worship is an emotional high. Worship is done in spirit and in truth. You have to know who you are worshipping. Of course, we cannot know him exhaustively, but what we know had better be known about the God who is there.
Thus, I conclude that my other ministerial friend is incorrect on this point, but it’s a tragic one to be incorrect on. Worship does not fit into life. Your life is to fit into worship.
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