As Long As I Worship God ...

Isn’t worshiping God the pinnacle of human meaning and experience? As long as I praise, worship, and recognize God’s glory, doesn’t this indicate that I’ve discovered the essence of a meaningful relationship with God? Isn’t this all that really matters? Let’s discover what God has revealed about worshiping Him.

The king had seen his army achieve total victory over the enemy. Enthusiasm and confidence filled the air as the jubilant soldiers drove the best of the sheep and the cattle back toward Israel. Soon the smoke from the altar would darken the sky as the king and the people would honor God in celebrating His victory. Following the multitude of sacrifices to God, the people would then go home feeling confident of their relationship with God.

The story might have ended with a king going to bed confident that everything was just great between himself and God. After all, it feels great to praise God, especially after a victory. Saul’s attitude appears to have been “as long as I worship God, that makes everything OK.”

But Saul’s day ended in tears not joy. To paraphrase Samuel, “to obey is more important than worship.” Just because Saul and the people might have felt great worshiping God and celebrating His victory, that didn’t necessarily mean that God was pleased with them. Although God had already revealed in the law that human obedience precedes acceptable worship. Saul insisted on learning Leviticus 26:14,31 the hard way.

During the 8th century B.C., God told the Israelites to essentially stop worshiping Him. He would not listen to their prayers. He couldn’t stand the noise of their praises anymore. Isaiah 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-23 Why? Because the people were honoring God without first being who they were supposed to be as His people. The people had not sacrificed themselves, they were selfish, greedy and had no concern about justice and mercy.

Similarly, the Psalmists confesses his own awareness that God would accept an animal sacrifice only after he first had offered the sacrifice of his broken and contrite heart. Psalms 51:16-19 Although we have been made for His glory, we won’t fulfill our purpose in worshiping God until we first visit the altar ourselves and have become a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1

Hebrews 13:28 describes the worshiper whom God accepts. He or she is one who approaches God with reverence and awe. Among other things, these qualities describe the obedience of one’s submissive spirit, not that spirit of arrogance, pride or rebellion which insists on doing things my way. Jesus taught that “the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” are those who “worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23, 24 Acceptable worship, therefore, is not merely a state of “feeling good praising God.” The worship God desires is built upon what is true as one’s spirit acknowledges, confesses and praises our awesome Creator.

With transformed minds, as new creatures in Christ, let us lift up holy hands in prayer and let’s joyfully praise our wonderful Creator. 1 Timothy 2:8

Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998

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