It is an ancient word injected with religious overtones. A majority of the definitions out there of the word worship incorporate something having to do with religiosity or a deity, granted. And yet I know that roughly half of the spouses out there (the ones that stay married) would say that at some point they have worshipped their significant other half.
So let's see what the dict says about worship.
verb
Definition:
1. treat somebody or something as deity: to treat somebody or something as divine and show respect by engaging in acts of prayer and devotion
2. take part in religious service: to take part in a religious service
3. love somebody deeply: to love, admire, or respect somebody or something greatly and perhaps extravagantly or unquestioningly
noun
Definition:
1. religious adoration: the adoration, devotion, and respect given to a deity
2. religious rites: the rites or services through which people show their adoration, devotion, and respect for a deity
3. great devotion: great or extravagant love, admiration, and respect felt for somebody or something
[ Old English weortscipe "condition of worth" < weorth "worth"]
I like the #3 definitions of worship and the source from Old English. I like how the origins of our English word come from the act of attaching a condition of worth to something. Jade and I are constantly busy doing that with our kids. Making sure they feel valued, important, and that they are worth it. So I suppose in a sense we worship our kids.
I have to notice, though, that there requires a relationship for this type of worship to take place. With true worship, the worship that attaches worth and expresses extravagant, deep love, one cannot just waltz into someone's life and immediately attach condition of worth while communicating great devotion and admiration. Devotion and admiration are things that require time and commitment.
Okay, here is where I am going with this: In the circle of Jesus followers, so many of the worship songs out there lose sight of this relationship and the direction all of our singing should be traveling. We are not singing to each other. We are singing to Almighty God, Jesus the Messiah and Redeemer, Creator of the universe. We sing to attach worth to God, His Son's sacrificial life, death, and resurrection on this earth, and the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.
The first example I can think of is a song I grew up singing and is probably still sung all over the place, "Jehovah Jireh":
Jehovah Jireh, my provider
His grace is sufficient for me
For me, for me
(repeat)
My God shall supply all my needs
According to His riches in glory
He will give His angels charge over me
Jehovah Jireh cares for me, for me, for me
Jehovah Jireh care for me
You might already see where I am going with this. Instead of singing to everybody else in the congregation and telling them how wonderful I am for being at the center of God's attention, why don't I tell God how amazing He is for providing everything I have ever needed or will ever need? And for those who know how the song goes, why is the emphasis on "for me"? It is repeated and emphasized in a crescendo of adoration for... myself? And we call this worship?
There is more worship that happens in a couple words proclaiming God's holiness than in a thousand words of how excited we are to be a peculiar people waiting for Jesus to come back so we can go to "glory" and leave this "crummy earth." There are worship songs out there designed (yes, I said designed) to get an emotional rise out of the congregation and get them excited and worked up while completely avoiding the subject of adoration and extravagant love. They sacrifice correct theology for poetry, intentional wording for rhyming limerick, and passionate emphasis for a pretty melody. A friend of mine describes these types of worship songs as congregational masturbation. There is a sense or a feeling of the the real thing, but it is lacking relationship and intimacy. "For me... for me... For Me... FOR ME... ungh!!!" (sorry for the graphic picture, just trying to make my point)
True worship needs to first be theologically correct. Then it needs to be vertical, not horizontal. I have heard it said, "songs sung to God not about God." I still think one of the best definitions for worship from the New Testament is "to draw near to kiss." There is something delicate and intimate there in that moment when two lovers draw near to each other in the intimate privacy of their situation. They seem to float in mid air, the world around them blurs out, time draws out its red carpet, and in that tenderness there is ultimate trust and adoration in the relationship. Worship is not a part of the service to suffer through, or listen through to get to the preacher's message. It is the ushering in of relationship as the bride proclaims her affection for the bridegroom. Without it, the service is naught.
And yes, true worship is a passion of mine. ;-D There is little else that touches my soul more deeply than truly connecting with my Creator in passionate, theologically correct, vertical, authentic worship.
2 comments:
Mark, Hey there...I appreciate your blog about worship. Worship is a wonderful topic and it's one not many are willing to talk about. There are so many different Christian denominations with so many differing styles of worship I'm sure it can be confusing to many who are trying to understand what is worship. I would be careful to not label the songs people sing ABOUT God "not worship" (many of the founding fathers of our faith wrote songs of worship that really only sung ABOUT God...but had a heart TO God...even with many of the Psalms in the Bible, David focused on what God has done or what he'd like God to do, or how he felt about God, or even just about how he felt). I too have sung the song Jehovah Jirah in my early years as a Christian back in the late 80s. the concept behind the Jehovah Jirah song actually comes from Scripture Gen.22:14 when God provided the ram for Abraham to sacrifice and Abraham praises God for the provision. But I would agree with you to a point...when a song has us place more emphasis on ourselves rather than on God, perhaps we need to re-examine it. Yes, God is our provider but just like with Abraham, he requires things on our part too. God asked Abraham to trust him. and Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac, knowing that regardless...God would still bless his offspring and make him the father of many nations (even at such an old age). So the blessing of Jehovah Jireh (God our provider) is more about that God keeps His covenant & word with us, than about that I'm gonna get all kinds of blessings. I think it's good to re-examine the songs we sing, to re-examine the things we do in a worship service. When people allow singing in church to take a turn and they actually sing TO God and praise Him just because He's God (not just ABOUT God and what He's done)then the Body of Christ is actually actively being present in RELATIONSHIP and worshipping God in an intimate way through song. The entirety of who we are and what we do should be worship to God...that can only happen when we enter fully into relationship with Him.
Hey Lisa, thanks for your comment.
Yeah, I realized after I made my post that some of my biggest arguments in the past about worship have been to explode the box that so many people place on what worship should look like. However, I think you made my point exactly, that "The entirety of who we are and what we do should be worship to God...that can only happen when we enter fully into relationship with Him." My point was about relationship with God and not to sing a pretty song to call worship. Even with a song that is vertical in direction, theologically correct, and written/composed out of relationship with God, the context in which it is sung/played/performed can take it from intimate worship song to just a performace on stage. There still needs to be relationship.
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