Worship.

Interesting action, isn’t it? One tends to think that worshipping God is just raising ones hands in adoration, singing a song of praise and worship, clapping etc. But is that really it? Is worshipping God just about singing a song, clapping, or dancing? Is that all there is to it? And then if we’ve gotten and sung a real good song of adulation then we think we have done the best worship of all and we think that God is pleased. But we are so Wrong!! Don’t you know that God’s got the best ensemble, composers, and worship leaders? He has angels, going around His throne, 24/7 singing and shouting- Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. He’s got the best music directors that compose wonderful melodies that can’t compare to ours here on Earth. We think we have done God a service after we’ve just spent forty or sixty minutes in “Worship Service” worshipping with the newest worship song of Hillsong United, Israel Houghton, Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Trent Cory or some other great worship artist. We feel that we have impressed God with our great songs, great voices, huge choirs, and bands; but what we don’t realize is that God is neither impressed nor pleased with our worship.

What is worship then? Worship is total surrender to God in our life. How we live our life and how we act on a daily basis determines our worship. Worship comes from within. Even Jesus Himself rebuked the Pharisees because they praised God with their lips, but their heart was sinful. God Himself rebuked King Saul through Samuel the Prophet saying “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifice or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.” (II Samuel 15:22-23 NLT).

I love how the Message puts it “Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God’s command, he says No to your kingship.” (II Samuel 15:22-23 The Message)

God does not want us to stage another “lavish religious production”. Worship is not just a song you sing to God. It is a lifestyle. The attitude that we have toward God in our daily life determines our worship. Am I saying that praising God with songs should be taken out of our lives? No. Not at all. Remember that God inhabits the praises of His people and He loves our worship, but He wants our worship along with a life that lives according to His Word. I guess that what I am trying to say is that God does not need of us to worship Him more than what we already worship Him… now we have to worship Him not only with our “Worship Service” but also with our lives, worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. Worshipping Him in Spirit by living according to His standards. Worshipping Him in truth by living a life that is worthy of His approval. I am no longer satisfied with worshipping God with my lips and giving Him lip service. I will not be satisfied until I know that I have worshipped God each day by living according to His Word.