Worship must build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:26-27). It is not exclusive. Everyone is involved. Some modern churches tend to limit worship on Sundays to a few songs and deny the flexibility that the Scriptures ask for (elaborated on later). Worship should never become dictated by a few people. This hinders the communal development between believers.
Certain terminologies used in modern praise and worship songs isolate the worshippers mentally from each other through disassociation. When songs use “I” language rather than “we” language the listeners think of themselves in terms of their individual self, rather than communally with other Christians. This is particularly prominent in the western world where the individual is highly valued. Although it may be seen as a “personal” relationship with God, worship is meant to be done in a community of believers; in unity to God. We are the church. We should worship as the church and not deny the community around us. At no point are we at this alone. The Bible is all about relationships and reconciliation in love. When possible we should worship in community. It is not just about us, or even about our own personal development. It is all about how we can serve and bring glory to God. The very fabric of this involves unity between believers (John 17:20-23). This means that there should never be worship where participation becomes exclusive. It should always include everyone in the congregation.
Enlightenment thinking preconditions Christians, and those entering Christianity to seek the self. It’s like they’re asking the question, “What can I get out of this service?” rather than what they can offer God or the other believers. It’s a perversion of worship. Seeking the self primarily detracts Christians from true worship. They are NOT worshiping God when the self is at the forefront. Since worship is about obedience and “sacrificing” ourselves to God in loving relation to Him, seeking self would be the opposite of worship. How can Christians surrender their wills and serve God when all they can think about is what they can get out of it? Yet many churches today are governed by the perceived needs of the congregation. On the surface there may seem to be nothing wrong with this. However, it still communicates that the church is made to fulfill our own needs. This makes it easy to see why the Bible is seen as, or is reduced to being just a manual on fulfilling perceived needs rather than on service and worship to our Lord. Pursuing the self and perceived needs as worship are one of those lies that seem to be one hair from the truth but have great implications.
When people truly worship God, there will always be a change in their hearts. This change will give the person a greater desire to get closer to God in love, and to obey him. If there is not a longing for better obedience towards God then we must question the authenticity of either (or both) the individual, or the “method” of worship itself. Since obedience is how we worship God, if we are not being pulled towards him we are not worshiping him. Worship is an act of obedience. If we claim that we love and worship God, yet choose to not live in obedience, John 14:21 says that our worship would be pointless. If we do not follow and serve God, we do not really love Him nor can we worship Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment