Is the Popular Idea of Worship Distorted?
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
Do We Have a Distorted View of Worship?
I believe Christian believers too often have a distorted view of what worship is. This may mostly be for the church in America, but certainly isn’t exclusive to American believers. This observation is not to find fault or place blame anywhere, it’s simply an observation.
When I first became a follower of Jesus, one of the ways I began to serve the Lord in the church was by leading praise and worship for our children’s ministry—about 100-125 rambunctious grade-school kids. It was a challenge, but I survived and went on to lead praise and worship for another 45 years.
I might be considered old school in many ways—fair enough. But I realized early on that it was more about leading people into a sense of the presence of God than about singing songs. Many times, I found that simplicity was more valuable than complexity. It wasn’t about who played what instruments, nor about song selection, but about the heart attitude of people, especially the one leading.
Countless times I've been in a worship service and been scolded by a “worship leader” who instructed us to lift our hands, stand, shout, or show more emotion in our expression of worship. When this happens, it does precisely the opposite of what the leader intends, at least for me. It tends to dampen whatever was going on that was positive.
Have you had this experience? Can we evaluate worship by how high we raise our hands, our posture, or how loud we sing? Is it dependent on a certain style or how well the worship band plays? These questions lead to a more important one.
Who is a worshipper?
Who do you think of as a worshipper of God? Who comes to mind of all the people in the Bible?
King David was known for his worship of God and the many psalms (songs) he wrote. He's also known for dancing before God as the ark returned to the city of God.
What about Solomon at the dedication of the temple? Or Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness, and hidden in the cleft of a mountain while God passed by?
A popular perception of worship
These and more are examples of worshippers in the Bible. But it seems to me the idea of worship is distorted nowadays. For many Christians in America, worship is about music. Yet, this is a very narrow view, even a distorted view.
What does it mean to worship God, for you? How would you describe it?
As a pastor, I've often heard people evaluate a church and its worship service on the basis of the praise and worship band. I have to admit, I've fallen prey to the same culturally fixated assessment. and understand it. As mentioned earlier, I've led praise and worship for many years.
But is the stereotypical perception of worship accurate or biblical? I don’t believe so, although it may be all that some people know. So this brings us to another important question.
What is worship?
We cannot define worship by how it’s expressed or demonstrated. True worship is directed towards God from the heart. Worship can take place internally and without any physical demonstration, it isn’t limited to certain expressions.
We serve an eternal God who is not limited, so our worship of Him should not be limited. This is what I imagine Moses realized when he saw the burning bush (Exo 3:1-6), or when he pleaded with God to reveal His glory (Exo 33:18-23).
So, how can we describe worship?
A simple definition of worship is reverence and adoration for God. It is an acknowledgment of God for who He is. Worship is an expression of our hearts and lives. It may come out in words, music, postures, service to others, or other ways. How we express worship isn't the most important thing. What is important is that it exists or is present within us.
Freedom of worship
How do you define freedom of worship? Chances are, it describes certain ways of expressing worship. That's fine. I think there should be real freedom of expression in worship, even within the same group of people.
But what about the freedom that comes from worship? For me, that's what I enjoy most. In fact, I don't realize true freedom of worship until I forget myself, let alone any consciousness of how I'm expressing worship. This is what we see with King David when He “danced before the Lord.”
What the Bible says about worship
I did a quick study of the Scriptures to see what they say about worship and intentionally ignored those related to expression through music.—many of us are familiar with those.
Give it a look over and add your own. In fact, let me know of other places in the Bible you find worship beyond its connection to music. I'd love to see what you dig up.
Here are some of the verses I found in the sequence they appear in the Bible—
Abraham ready to sacrifice his son Isaac– Genesis 22:5
Moses in response to the Lord as seen in– Exodus 3:1-6; 34:8, 14, 18-23
David sacrificing and dancing in worship– 2 Samuel 6:12-21
Solomon at the dedication of the temple– 1 Kings 8:1-11
And of course, in the Psalms– Psalms 5:7; 29:2; 34:9; 66:4; 95:6; 96:9; 97:7; 99:5; 132:7
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (Psalm 29:2)
Here’s the heart of the issue– Isaiah 29:13-16
The Lord says, “These people worship me with their mouths and honor me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is based on rules made by humans. (Isaiah 29:13 GW)
Here are several more Bible references referring to worship—
I’ve asked several questions and given my thoughts along with many biblical references on worship. But I can’t answer these questions for you.
I encourage you to consider what I’ve shared and to read through and consider these biblical references. I hope this will help you have a more clear view of worshipping the Lord.
PS—This a revision of a blogpost published several years ago.
