Author, Simon.
Published, October 1, 2008.
It is disappointing when a word gets contorted and twisted to the point that it no longer means what it means. If you know what I mean.
Example: ‘Worship’. In the Christian church this has been twisted a fair bit. Worship, in many ways, now refers to a particular bracket of songs played during a church service. This is fairly unfortunate, because it is not only completely untrue, but just because the keyboard player uses a string pad in slow song doesn’t make it worship. Coldplay put string pads in slow songs. So do Metallica, now that I think about it. Worship is something so much more than a bracket of songs in a service.
We are all born to worship. Every single human being is built to give themselves completely to something. I don’t think I need to provide much empirical evidence for this. Look around you; people worship their jobs, their cars, their football club, their spouses, their television, their music, their wooden carvings, or idols. In fact, people mostly worship themselves. They place themselves first in all instances, and they provide for their own satisfaction and happiness over anyone and anything else. So, we naturally worship, and we naturally worship something.
It says in Romans 1:25 that we “[exchange] the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” This describes what I have just explained; substitution of God with earthly things, whether it be objects, hobbies, people or ourselves. I think this is very true of what we see around us. Whether you believe in God or not, people worship something. It has possibly become clear by now that, by ‘worship’, I do not just mean singing a song. An act of worship is an act which shows that you value something above others. People do not sing to their cars (often), or fall on their knees in front of their occupation (which would be a very difficult thing to do). It is a very practical thing; it involves decisions we make, sentences we speak, time we commit, as well as heartfelt praise through song and other expressions.
Romans 12:1 reads thusly:
Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.
Our bodies, which you could read as ‘lives’, are to be holy and pleasing. Paul is not referring, here, to songs. He is referring to a life of holiness, which is taken by God as a sacrificial act of worship. Verse 2 says:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.
This is worship; not being like the sinful world, but being transformed through the renewal of our minds and natures, by the Holy Spirit. This is a pleasing sacrifice to God. In Micah 6, there is clear juxtaposition regarding what is pleasing to God. Verse 7:
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
It would appear that God is not overly interested in incredible outward expressions of worship. He is most pleased when we live as he requires. We are not saved by works, but God is most pleased by our good and holy works, because they are truly worshipful.
Hear hear! I agree. It is a hard teaching to put into practice, which is exactly what you suggest is required. I feel like many people hear and don’t understand such teaching as this, including myself. This means more time in the Word, more time in prayer, more time in JOY! Serious and honest reflection is most difficult, particularly when concerning our vices. Nice one Simon. I say again, hear hear!
(Oh, what the dang is a string-pad?)
Thanks Roger! (String-pad: that nice warm string-section sound that often gets played during a slow song in church. If you need any further explanation, listen to a Hillsong album. You’ll hear a fair bit.)
I have to agree with the humble attitude of you guys. I find it interesting to look at the word ‘worship’ which means ‘to give Worth to’ and when you look at the human race’s place in creation, we are really the only creatures that have such a deep sense of awareness of our existence (at least some of the human race) What I’m trying to say that it’s this awareness of something (ie.the universe) that is given Worth by people paying attention to it or experiencing it. like the proverb “if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it. does it make any sound?’
anyway, continuing on with your thought, Simonus, that people give worth to their cars, football teams by spending all their time paying attention to it, spending their LIVES on it. I guess we all search for giving our attention to the most important things (so that it gives us Worth back)-because if we spend our lives giving Worth to the Worthless then we have Wasted our lives). so, in the grand scope of things, putting a tatoo of a band or a car on your arm may seem very permanent but everything will pass away… so what remains? What’s Worth giving Worth to?