The Discipline of Worship
All around the world people live their lives in pursuit of money, fame, or pleasure, all of which are fleeting at best. All the while they neglect their souls which are eternal. In the realm of spiritual disciplines, worship is one that is often neglected.
Worship is fundamentally theological. Think about it. Is it truly possible to worship God if you don’t know him? Those who know Him best worship Him most, and this is the scene we see in Revelation 4. In the early verses of the chapter we’re taken to the throne room of heaven. In verse 4 we see those who know him best worshiping him with earnest. If we want to worship God better, we need to become preoccupied with knowing God. This is done through the spiritual disciplines – studying God’s word, prayer, stewardship, evangelism, etc. Through these we develop our personal relationship with God.
Worship is more than a genre of music or as a ritual to observe on Sunday mornings. Worship is about knowing God and responding personally to that knowledge. Believe it or not, worship is not about you. It’s about Him. We can have our preferred methods of worship, but it blows my mind when churches will have big fights about worship styles. It doesn’t matter whether you worship God with a pipe organ or a kazoo, because it’s not about you or your preferences. It’s about God.
Additionally, worship is practical. It’s not something we simply think or talk about. It’s something we do. It involves practice. It involves action. Much of what we consider to be worship today is human centric. It’s created by man for man to invoke an emotional response from man.
Many churches design worship services around what’s going to attract people. How can we put on a good show? What will give people a good feeling? Worship isn’t about feeling good, it’s about doing, saying, and being what we should do, say, and be. It involves specific and intentional action on our part directed toward God.
True worship also requires humility. Notice Revelation 4:10. These elders have been elevated to a place of privilege, power, and authority over all mankind. This is indicated by the robes, thrones, and crowns. But when they begin to worship they fall upon their faces and cast their crowns before God.
Worship is more than a genre of music. It’s more than singing a couple songs on Sunday morning. Worship involves the way we live our lives. Worship demonstrates who we are before God, both publicly and privately, spiritually and physically. True worship means surrendering your life to God.
So, what does your worship look like? Are you going through the motions, or is there an authentic connection between you and God as you come before His throne? Who or what are you worshiping? Because you can’t truly worship God unless you know Him.