Worship, Purpose by Another Name

In the Old Testament, a believer who wanted to worship God had to go to a place of worship. That place had to have an altar, and a sacrifice. Genesis 22 is a great example of this model as Abraham is trudging up the mountain with his son who unbeknownst to him, is planned as being the sacrifice.

As history progressed, the children of Israel’s place of worship changed from the mount tops to the tabernacle and later to a temple. After the 2^nd temple was destroyed, the believer worshipped in a synagogue.

But when Christ died on the cross, something profound happened. The veil of the temple, which separated the holy of holies, was torn. The barrier between sacred and secular was removed. Why?

Christ said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” – John 2:19. Paul, wrote, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” – I Cor 3:16.

The temple, the place of worship, is no longer a building or structure, or any other external place. The place of worship is now the believer.

But if worship is doing religious stuff how can this be? How can the temple be subject to the menial tasks of mowing the lawn, commuting to work, or even important, but secular duties such as working 9 to 5?

The monk’s idea of worship was to abandon all of this stuff. Seen as a distraction, the monk left such things behind, sold all of their possessions, and lived in a monastery, where for the rest of their lives, they could do religious stuff like pray, meditate, etc….

However, if this is God’s plan for the worshipping believer, than why did He make life to be such a persistent distraction from these activities? Could there be a better answer?

Could it be that God doesn’t want us to worship Him by abandoning life itself? I believe that He wants us to worship Him IN life. He wants us to worship him while mowing that lawn, taking the kids to school, eating dinner, etc. How can we do this you ask? It is not by turning every event into a prayer, communion, baptism, Bible study or other religious activity. The answer lies in the realization that true, Biblical worship is meaning.

There is a question that haunts every human soul. That question is, “What is the meaning of my life?” This is the God-shaped hole that Augustine wrote about. This is the longing that C.S. Lewis and even nonbelievers like Anias Nin recognized. Only God can fulfill it.

Christian worship is purpose by another name. What makes every moment of my life an act of worship is not whether or not I am attaching it to a “religious” sacrament, but rather the intent of that moment. It is our intentions, our very heart’s purpose, that can make every act of life an act of worship. Just to use the mowing the lawn example, let me demonstrate.

Why mow the lawn when the next week the grass will be long again? Why do something that has such a short-term benefit? The believer worships the Creator while mowing, having a sense of purpose and fellowship with Him in everything he/she does, even when his/her mind is on something trivial. I might be thinking about how I need to scatter some grass seed in some bare spots, but because my life’s purpose is for God’s purposes, even these thoughts are worshipful. I ultimately want even green grass for His glory. And He wants me to enjoy even my lawn because He is a loving father, who wants me to enjoy all of His creation. Worship is our delight of the father. And what’s more is that He delights in us as well!

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4

I also will mow the lawn with the idea that if I don’t, it’s a horrible witness on my neighbors who should know about my faith and not appreciate an unkempt lawn bringing down their property values. Such a bad impression could be a stumbling block in my leading them to Christ.

I can keep going, but the point is echoed in Martin Luther’s statement that even a dairy farmer can worship God as he milks a cow. The point is that worship is 24 hrs/day, 7 days a week to the believer. Our lives are a song to Him.

So what we typically call the “worship” portion of our church services, is not aptly named. Although, I also use this terminology because if you can’t beat em’, join em, technically, a worship leader really just continues a 24/7 worship (think “walking in the Spirit”), but brings it into a corporate/congregational setting.

That special time that we reserve in our church services can be called congregational worship. It is special in that it is the one time during the week where we might worship God not as individuals, but as a church community, enjoying both the fellowship of God and man.

And why do we use music when we could use liturgy for this coming together? Liturgy is certainly valid and Biblical, however the advantages of music for corporate worship are these:

1.      The rhythm of music can be used to synchronize the community. The beat actually unifies everyone so that we’re all singing the same thing at the same time. Just let your heart or the celestial bodies get out of rhythm, and you’ll quickly see the benefits of the synchronizing effect of rhythm.

2.      The beauty (aesthetics) of worship augments the message of the music.

3.      Music converges propositions with the visceral. It is the coalescence of the heart and the mind, the intellect with the emotions. Christianity is truly holistic.

So, to be literal, I would more accurately call myself either a music director, or the corporate worship leader of a church. I prefer the latter, because I believe that God has called me to model and teach worship, NOT simply music.