Why Should We Worship Jesus? Part Two

Why Should We Worship Jesus?   Part 2

What Worship Is

Worship is living our life individually and corporately as living sacrifices to the glory of a person or thing.  Please pay close attention to the following concept as it is key in building a case for what worship is.  A couple sentences ago I tied worship to the glory of a person or thing.  This connection between glory and worship is clear in verses such as Romans 11:36 - 12:1, which says,  "For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen.  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."  (NIV)

In this section of scripture Paul connects a number of vital truths regarding worship.  First, we hold a person or thing in a place of glory.  Second, we then worship that person or thing.  Third, our worship of that person or thing we hold in glory is done by means of making sacrifices.  You may be asking yourself, "Why do you insist that I worship anyone or anything in my life?"  Or, "Why do you insist that I should start now?"  The answer is this:  the Lord, through His written word (the Bible), requires our worship.  If you have any doubts about this please read the following scriptures:  Exodus 34:14; Psalm 22:27, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 45:11, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 86:9, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 99:5, Psalm 132:7, Matthew 4:10, John 4:23-24, John 9:31.

Glory means weightiness, importance, priority, or that which is our greatest treasure, deepest longing, and fountain of hope.  In a functional sense, what we hold in the place of glory is in effect our real god.  Whether we realize it or not we can and do hold various people and things in a position of glory and then worship them by making sacrifices.  Because we have limited resources (time, energy, money), we must allocate those things to what we consider most important or glorious to us - and in doing this we make sacrifices to our functional god.  Whatever we hold in the position of highest glory is by definition our god(s).  Practically, worship is making sacrifices for what we are living to glorify.

Also, the biblical word for worship is sometimes translated "sacrifice".  This insight is helpful because what we make the greatest sacrifices for reveals what we truly live to glorify and worship.  Ouch!  I know these are strong, sober words.  But they are truth and I myself, while writing this, am forced to take a critical look at my own set of priorities in life and how I perceive worship from the perspective of someone called to music ministry.  Let us dig a little deeper. . .  Let us look at some real-world examples of this concept of glory and worship.  If we eat and drink in excess, we are worshipping our stomach and sacrificing our health.  If we sacrifice relationships with God and people for a hobby (sport, music, craft), then we are worshipping that hobby.  If we are giving our bodies to sexual sin, we are worshipping sex and/or another person whose glory is our highest aim, sacrificing holiness and intimacy with God in the process.  In short, we give our time, energy, body, money, focus, devotion, and passion to that which we glorify most - and we make sacrifices to worship that person or thing.  Because we were made for the express purpose of worshipping God, everyone is a worshipper.  The only difference is who or what we worship.

As we work through this series of discussions on worship please feel free to share these thoughts with others in your music department.  I believe this type of honest, self-critiquing study is benefiting and necessary to the spiritual health of all church music departments.  I will also be the first to admit this understanding has become real to me only after learning the hard way, through trial and error.  And by stumbling, making mistakes and rising again to press forward in Jesus' name.  Stay tuned for part three of this series, when we will discuss examples of false worship.