The world that we live in is not friendly to a lifestyle of worship. It challenges us to fear, to doubt God’s word, to take into our hands all that concerns us. Even while we attempt to worship the Lord, we are challenged by the world’s ways. Fear, intimidation, and doubting God are the Enemy’s tools and we are constantly tempted to use them. Focusing on God’s person, rather than the world’s perspective, is paramount to worshipers. Harold Best, the dean of music at Wheaton College, explained it well when he said, “the message is unequivocal; whatever we do as Christians we do as worshipers”. There is a clear line between the world’s ways and that of “a living sacrifice”.
The children of Israel were mandated with the task to evangelize the world but they fell into foreign worship. Idolatry was their demise. When they began to worship anything other than God, they lost their influence to reach the nations of the world. We must learn this lesson and guard our hearts from idolatry.
Since the entire world’s population worships something, the lives that we live as “living sacrifices” create a dividing line. The world’s ways are selfish and ultimately destructive. The worship of God places the attention on him. In our songs, as well as in our lives, we do well to focus on Almighty God. Narcissistic and humanistic attitudes are not surprising in the world but have no place in Christian worship. It is especially true that the “me” mentality has no place in the gathering of God’s worshipers. God is the one who changes lives. God is the one who enables us to live for him. All the human determination in the world has no power to do either.
The worship of God is an element in his plan that differs from the witness of God’s people, in that it is birthed in the heart of God. Worship is directed to God, yes, but it also puts us in touch with the purposes of his heart. This will change us, creating that line of distinction between how we live and how those without him live. He reaches out to us and all those around us with loving hands, calling us to enter into deep relationship with him. We may not fully understand what that means, but a worshiping heart will express a gratitude for God’s offer of relationship that can powerfully impact those in the world around us. We appreciate your Comments
