Made To Worship
Photograph by Dana Long
Praise is not difficult; anything can praise. You can praise a child for good behavior, you can praise a coworker for a job well done, you can praise God for waking you up this morning- and you should. Praise is expected from the creations to the Creator. The birds praise God with their songs; the wind praises God as it whistles through the trees, even the oceans praise as waves beat on the rocks + sand, but what about worship? Worship is often linked to praise, but it comes from a different place within our spirit. Worship is the art of getting lost in the adoration of another. As creations, we are supposed to be worshiping the Higher being who designed us, but of course, our finite thinking has other plans to worship limited things "in the meantime."
Celebrities: It can be easy to worship Hollywood actors because their accomplishments and their day-to-day schedules are available to the public at all times. You can literally sit on a couch and watch other people live their lives. You can Keep Up with individuals who are making the most out of their time and before you know it, hours of your day have been wasted on someone else's life.
Sports: There is a strong spirit of worship in the sports atmosphere. The stadium is the church, and the athletes are the gods. People spend thousands of dollars on merchandise, paint their bodies, and cheer until their voices give out on them for men + women who are going to pass from this Earth just like you and me.
People worship other people (and in some cases, things) without even realizing it at times. Worship is intertwined with surrender. People surrender their hard earned money for merchandise, or they yield their time to obsess over idols. The question is not if we will worship, the question is who will we worship. Worship is a lifestyle, and it can be exemplified in the way we speak, dress, and live each day. When we worship God, we are shifting our thoughts from, thankfulness for deeds + blessings previously given, to thanking Him in advance for things that have not yet come to pass. Worship will go forth whether we acknowledge it or not. It's all about who will receive it, some celebrity or athlete we may never meet, or our Heavenly Father? So what does the Bible say about worship?
Luke 4:8
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
English Standard Version:
And Jesus answered him, “It is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
John 4:23-24
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Worship isn't limited to a specific time or song, it is predicated on what we choose to focus on with the time we have been given. Take some time to reflect on your schedule. Is there something you have found yourself worshipping other than God? It is absolutely not too late to identify obstacles blocking true worship and start fresh with pure surrender unto God.
