I was thinking about worship today—Weird since I’m a worship leader right?! Yeah, every once in a while I think about the topic instead of just singing it. The biblical principal that I was considering was that we are to have no other God’s before him. We Christians, if we have been believers for more than a day, probably are quite clear that Worship of God is the reason that we exist—The familiar Westminster Catechism: the chief end of man is to glorify God.
However, I think we do a funny thing. We think that we can demonstrate this “worshiping God first” idea in a list. My life consists of:
Family
Friends
Work
School
Grande Vanilla Mocha’s
Hobbies
Entertainment
Etc.
And then we insert “GOD!!!” in an exclaimed fashion at the top of the list and say, “Done! I have put God first.” Pure silliness really! That’s not how it works, come’ on. God doesn’t even want to be on the list. He is the list my friends! We should scribble out the list and right “JESUS” right over the entire thing in huge letters, right?
Remember the parables that Jesus taught? A man finds a Pearl and sells everything to buy it. A man finds a field with treasure and he sells everything and buys it. That’s worship! What you are willing to give up in order to gain something determines how much you value the thing you’re gaining.
We tend to think more in terms of spoken or asserted values and less in terms of demonstrated values. Since I say that God is the most important thing in my life it doesn’t matter that I sin my brains out and don’t do anything for the Kingdom of God. God is the most important thing to me and what I do doesn’t matter. Craziness!!!
Instead of Loving the Lord completely with no other God’s before him we think, I will love all my other God’s less. Friends, loving your idols less is not the idea. True worship is taking every aspect of your life—each item on that list—and letting God purge it unless it can be devoted to the Glory of God. That is worship! Everything for him! “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all for the Glory of God.” It is a challenge.
Here’s the thing to think about. What thing in your life (and mine) would you not give up in order to live for Jesus? Whatever that thing is or those things are, it is that which you actually worship most.
That is back breaking conviction in my life! That is why we need the Grace of Jesus Christ, is it not? Jesus modeled it first. He came and gave everything to purchase us to himself by the cross. It is only by having the power of his life in us that we stand a chance at surmounting the pull of the crazy amount of idols that vie for our worship. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary of the 1800’s in China, said, “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot loose.”
Anyway, that was my thought. Any thoughts?
