Sunday is our traditional day of worship for most Christians. Well ... "day of worship" might be a little overstatement. I'd say that these days it's closer to "hour or so of worship." But you get the idea. However, what day it is and how long it lasts isn't my topic here. It is worship.
Worship is defined in the dictionary as "to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power." That works for me. Biblically, some misguided souls tried to worship that which was not God and were chided for it. Maybe it was an idol or maybe it was an angel, but anything worshiped that was not God was a bad idea. Only God deserves that honor and reverence. But what is it? A common term in the Bible is "fear" (Job 28:28; Psa 111:10; Prov 1:7; 9:10; 10:27; Matt 10:28; 2 Cor 5:11 etc.). Some will translate that as "reverential awe" (although in both the Old and New Testaments the word is "fear"), and that's okay as long as you remember that "awe" intrinsically includes a "sense of dread" or "fear." Scripture says that our reasonable worship is presenting our bodies as living sacrifice to God (Rom 12:1). And throughout Scripture there was song -- Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs (Col 3:16) -- that were used as worship as well as the preaching of God's Word. Biblically, worship is essentially assigning worth to the One who is worthy -- worth-ship.
Here's the strange thing. In our day, worship -- the kind that takes place on your typical Sunday morning -- has become something quite different. We go to church and have our standard "worship service" which will include, typically, some singing and some preaching. And we say, "I got a lot out of that." Or, "I don't know. Their choice of songs wasn't so good" or "His sermon wasn't that good" or the like. What we don't seem to consider is "What worship did I offer to God? What 'worth-ship' did I ascribe to the Lord? Did I express in deed and mind and attitude honor and reverence for my God?" Now, how did this come to be? How have we arrived at the place that a "worship service" is about what I get out of it? There seems to be a disconnect here. And it doesn't seem to be a good change.
3 comments:
I imagine that as choice in churches grew, people were able to choose churches that they felt helped them to worship better. Over time, with a culture with a growing "me first" attitude departed from the help to worship part. That's my guess anyway.
I know that in the past, the entire “Lord’s Day” was set aside to honor God, with no occupational pursuits performed but all time and energy devoted to worshiping God. There were two hours-long services each Sunday (with an extended break between them for a meal) and fellowship with other believers before and after the services. (It was as if these worshipers were ingesting a hearty spiritual meal to fuel them for the coming secular week ahead.)
As you mentioned, modern “worship services” have shrunk in duration, substance, and focus; in large part now (catering to an entertainment-oriented mindset), “worship” is often improperly equated to the musical component of the church service (signified by terming the singers and/or musicians the “worship leaders” or “worship team” and labeling services as “contemporary” or “traditional” based on musical performance styles). It seems that the more that churches have focused on being “seeker friendly” in recent decades and the less Bible literacy attendees possess, the more that true worship has disappeared.
Personally, I like to see Sunday “worship services” focus primarily on the preaching of the Word, accompanied by prayerful expression of our worship expressed through “tithes and offerings,” songs, testimonies, acts of service, the Lord’s Supper, etc. This keeps the focus more properly on “what we give back to God” in response to His Word of truth and less about “what I get out of it,” as you say.
My overarching conviction about worshiping God--the only One worthy of my complete devotion--is that my quest to “love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength“ cannot be activated for a few hours on Sunday morning and then “shut down” again for the rest of the week. I really want more than a “Sunday morning faith”--merely a form of “churchianity.” I know God desires that for me as well, and He is certainly worthy of such a “living sacrifice” presented from me to Him.
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