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[Life Stories ] >> [Article] |
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Topic: When Worship Means Nothing "Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings, boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do," declares the Sovereign Lord ." Amos 4:4-5 God issues a stern warning about worship here. The worshipper is guilty of loving to give sacrifices, thank offerings and freewill offerings; while leading sinful lives. As if worship were merely a performance and had nothing to do with how lives are led. What is worship in our day? From observing Christians and listening to what they say, it is easy to mistake worship today for: - an emotional experience. People say that the worship was good because they felt touched by the words, music, the sharing, or just the whole atmosphere. - a musical concert. People applaud the "great music" and are critical when the songs are uninteresting. With the resources and talent available to us today, it is easy to forget that worship is about God - loving Him and revering Him. And not about music, performances, emotions or socializing. Most fundamentally, we worship because we were created as beings with a need to respond to God, deep in our soul and spirit. Worship is our response, and essentially what defines our relationship with God. We worship God for who He is and not just what He does. Martin Lloyd Jones reminds us: "The most important and highest activity that a company of God's people could ever engage in, is to offer the Almighty God acceptable worship." So what is acceptable worship? Jesus himself said "true worshippers 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 And David said in Psalm 51, "You do not desire sacrifice or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." We are blessed with much resource and talent. By all means, let us multiply these blessings for God's glory. But let us remind ourselves that the forms and rituals of worship must flow from the deep response of spirits and hearts submitted to Him. We must never allow the work of our hands - beautiful tunes, meaningful lyrics, elaborate liturgies, swelling emotions or eloquent words - become ends in themselves. Because then, as Amos suggests, it would all mean nothing.
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