Vain Worship

What do we know about worship? Well, our word for it is vague. The dictionaries define it as an expression of reverence and adoration. Fine. But what does that mean? I want to ask what the Bible says about it.

We know that it is possible to worship in vain. That is, people can go through the motions of worship without actually worshiping. It looks like worship, but it's not. Jesus said, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me" (Matt 15:8-9). Worship, then, requires a heart condition, not merely lipservice.

What, then, would be real worship versus vain worship? Jesus told the woman at the well, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). In this He outlined two necessary components -- spirit and truth. Vain worship would be without spirit and/or without truth. You can express all the reverence and adoration you want, but without truth it is not worship. We also know "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve" (Matt 4:10). So genuine worship is toward God alone. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:21), so true worship requires a heart that values God above all. Our English word, worship, originated as "worth-ship" -- a recognition of worth. When we treasure God above all else, that is "worth-ship" -- worship. In Romans Paul wrote, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Rom 12:1). Sacrificing self on behalf of God is biblical worship.

The Bible isn't silent about worship, but in many cases we're just not listening. We think it's singing some good songs and gathering a warm feeling about God. It is not. If that's all it was, it would simply fall, biblically, in the category of "vain worship." Valid worship requires that we value God above everything else, placing Him at the center of our heart and spirit, sacrificing all we have and are to Him. In this version of worship, Sunday is a good day for it, but certainly not a sufficient day. We need a lifetime of it. We can start that today.