WHY I WORSHIP

Have you ever been reading a book that you really enjoyed and at the same time couldn't shake the thought that something just wasn't quite right about it? This happened to me while I was reading For whose Pleasure: Confronting the Real Issue as We Gather to Worship by Steve Klingbell.   I started reading this book at the recommendation of two people I know, love, and trust - who both thought the book was fantastic... So I had high expectations for it. I have to admit that it really is a good book about worship that I would recommend all Christians to read.  It does a wonderful job addressing many of the issues our American culture is facing with worship today including the consumer-mentality we see in American worship, getting "me" out of the worship equation, the importance of corporate worship, the importance of truth in worship, and - most importantly - having the right "object" of worship, which is God.  The author treated all of these topics and others like them very well, but even as I read and enjoyed the book, I was bothered by a little twinge inside telling me that something was just a little off.

The more I read, the clearer that twinge became until I realized that my problem was not with the author's treatment of the issues, but with the author's fundamental principle of the book itself - that of pleasing God through our worship.  The author's treatment of pleasing God through worship was thorough, and so I began to have a bit (a small bit, but a bit nonetheless) of a theological crisis.  You see I know that theologically what pleases God is not my actions, but rather the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  I realize and understand that all of my righteous acts are as filthy rags in the eyes of God.  Most importantly, I know from scripture that it is only through faith that I as an individual can please God because without faith it is impossible to please God.  Any good study of Romans or Galatians or Ephesians will prove to you that I can never please God through any actions of my own - including religious acts of "worship." I know that what pleases God is my faith in the one thing that truly pleases Him - the work of Christ.  My crisis, therefore, was in the fact that the author did such a very good job of demonstrating through scripture how our acts of worship can please God that I wanted to believe him, but my theological bias told me that could not possibly be the case.   Pleasing God is a very desirable thing... And I am immediately drawn back in my memory to the old Petra song that said "I wanna be a God-please; Don't wanna be a man-pleaser.."  It is very natural for us to want to please our deity - that is what all religion is ultimately about...but is it theologically correct for Christianity?

What made the crisis more acute for me was the fact that I very much liked what the author said about worship and agreed with his analysis, conclusions, and recommendations about how we approach God in worship.  If that had not been the case, I would have dismissed the book as being completely off base... But because I liked the book so much, I needed to resolve this issue theologically.

I began to contemplate and meditate over these scriptures to try to resolve this crisis in my own mind.  How can it be true that my worship pleases God when only my faith in the work of Jesus Christ really pleases God.  As I did so, I began to realize that in each and every one of these scriptures presented by the author, it was not so much the actions of the individual that pleased God but rather the condition of the heart that led to the actions that pleased God. In fact, much of the prescribed worship in the Old Testament that would please God never actually pleased God because the people of Israel never really committed their heart wholly to God. That made some sense to me and actually fit well into the author's paradigm of the book. The condition of our heart is paramount to whether our actions - be they worship related or otherwise - are acceptable to God.  It also reinforces the reason why much of Israel's worship in the Old Testament was found to be so unacceptable to God "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Isaiah 29:13 ESV).  Perhaps this would be the key that would help me get past my theological crisis with the author's approach to worship on this book.  At least I hoped so...

About that time, The Lord began to impress upon me a couple of important questions.  The first question was fairly simple, "What is worship?"  That one is pretty easy (I've been through this exercise before).  Worship is more than singing...worship is more than praising...worship is even more than service...although all of these "actions" take place as part of our worship of God (or other things).  Worship is, simply put, ascribing worth or declaring that something has value or worth.  In both the Hebrew and the Greek, the word most often used for worship literally means to bow down before and the second most often used word means to serve, but in all cases the concept is about ascribing appropriate worth.  We give value to lots of things every day.  In fact, we give some kind of value to everything.  In that sense, we actually do "worship" - that is, give worth to - lots of things.  Some of that may be appropriate (for example, when we say a car is worth a certain amount of money or when we say that a certain activity was worth the trouble and effort), and so we would not call that "worship" per se.  The problem is when we give something more (or less) value than it deserves.  When we give something more value than it deserves - and especially if we give something greater value than we give God - then that thing becomes for us an idol and we begin to worship that thing in the sense of worship that we understand here.

The second question that the The Lord then impressed on me was this: "Why do you worship me?"  That question was a little more difficult.  The author of this book would say that I should worship to please God.  I think therein lies the heart of what was bothering me about the book.  The only acceptable answer to the question as to why I worship is this: Because he IS worthy - or - because he deserves it and he alone deserves it.  Worship is ascribing worth.  Who is more worthy of worship, then, than the one who has greater value and worth than anything else.  I worship God because he deserves my worship and for no other reason than that.  I ascribe worth to God because he is worthy of my worship.  This immediately brings to mind the many many songs that say exactly that..."Worthy, you are worthy..." We sing "he is worthy" because his alone is.  However, it is not just in my singing that I ascribe worth to God.  All of my life can be worship because all of my life can be carried out for the glory and worthiness of God.

Of course I may choose to "worship" for other reasons, but no other reason for worship is valid and so no other reason for worship pleases God.  It may seem a bit paradoxical to say it, but if I worship to please God he will never be pleased...but if I worship because he is worthy of my worship then he will be pleased.  So where does this leave us with the book, For Whose Pleasure?  I really do not write this to be negative toward the author at all.  In fact, I still recommend the book as a great read for any Christian.  However, I don't want us doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons - even if the primary reason is as lofty as wanting to please God.  The author is saying all the right things we need to hear about worship, but his premise for doing so is so that we can please God.  I get that.  I want to please God not only with my worship but with my whole life as well.  However, I must ultimately recognize that only through my faith in Christ can I please God.  That means I must give worth to God through my worship - not to please God, but because - through faith - I know and acknowledge that he is worthy of it just because of who his is.  As such, as you do read this book (and I recommend that you do) my suggestion would simply be to replace the book's concept of worshipping God to please him with worshipping God simply because he is worthy of it.  When each chapter begins with "Pleasing God by..." replace that in your mind with "Demonstrating God's Worthiness by..."  Likewise, when the author discusses how and why we should seek to please God through worship, remember that while we should desire to please God, it is only through our faith that we really can please God and that all the things he says will bring pleasure to God only do so when they are done in faith for the glory and worthiness of Jesus Christ.

Of course i could be completely off-base with this and and open to a theological correction if it is appropriate. I would love to hear your thoughts on this... Do you agree or disagree with my assessment of our reasons for worship?  Am I over-reacting? Please leave your comments below.

The Christian and Social Media

IRONY ALERT:  This blog deals with social media and the Christian lifestyle.  Ironically, I am likely to be sharing this blog via social media and in some respects am doing many of the things I discuss here.  It only goes to show you exactly how difficult this issue can be and how fine the line is that we have to walk with it.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the appropriate use of social media for a Christian.  Exactly how ought a Christian to conduct him/herself in the online world and what exactly is appropriate for a Christian when it comes to social media?   Now before I even get started, I have to ask myself how I have been using social media myself – you know, examining the plank in my eye before saying anything about the spec in yours.  So, after a quick review of my “timeline” over the last few weeks I discovered I generally use social media as follows:

• I have cheered on my favorite football team (Roll Tide)
• I posted information promoting the non-profit that I am involved with, Designs for Hope
• I posted pictures of my recent weekend vacation to the beach with some friends
• I “shared” some blogs and articles that I had read
• I “tweeted” some inspirational thoughts and/or re-tweeted inspirational thoughts of others
• I published and shared my blogs, most of which are devotional and/or introspective
• I asked some introspective spiritual questions (didn’t get too many responses to my questions, though)
• I tweeted about a popsicle I ate (really?)
• I shared some videos my son made on his YouTube channel
• I wished my wife Happy Anniversary and a few “friends” Happy Birthday
• I promoted one or the other of the two books I have written in some way (posting a quote from the book, etc.)

That actually sounds about right.  Some of the content or the purposes may vary, but that’s a good representation of my social media life.  The thing is, when I do my “obligatory” daily “scroll” I find a few other uses:

• Parents living vicariously through their children buy posting their exploits online (hey, I’m a proud parent too – I get it)
• The online sharing of one’s free-flowing thoughts about the game, event, or TV show they happen to be watching at the time
• Lots of picture about what people either ate – or want to eat
• Plenty of advertising one’s personal cause (hey, I do that with my non-profit and with my book)
• Vanity pictures (ummm… if you are over 16 and/or not a girl, please don’t post a selfie – its embarrassing for you)
• Bully pulpiting
• Complaining
• Posting about some random things people are doing or are about to do

In addition, I have to think about what I am looking for when I log in and begin my daily scroll.  Am I looking for some good gossip?  Am I looking to keep up with and communicate with people I don’t get to see every day?  Am I looking for a good article to read? Am I a social stalker (always looking but never communicating)?  Or am I just addicted to the scroll and don’t really care what I see, so long as I get my fill of information?

The question is: how much of this is really appropriate?  In many respects, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with social media and there is a good deal of positive that can come from its use.  Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.  Some people either don’t think or don’t care about the implications or the impact of their online conduct.  Some see it as a way to validate their own insecurities.  If they can post something unique or dramatic or shocking enough to get a long list of “likes” or comments then somehow that makes them feel better.

At the end of the day, whether or not any particular online activity is appropriate or not depends upon one’s heart.  In Mark 7, Jesus reminds us that what makes anything we do good or evil depends upon our hearts.

Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

These words apply directly to our online conduct.  When our online conduct is motivated by those things which Jesus says are within our hearts AND are evil, then such conduct is sinful and inappropriate.  Are we being prideful?  Are you angry?  Be careful, because an angry post can easily become slanderous.  Are we being deceitful or envious?  Maybe you just want a platform to complain or to preach from your favorite soap box.  Scripture is very clear that complaining is a sin and there are a lot of folks out there whining and complaining on social media.  Or perhaps we are just being foolish – yes, foolishness is evil – that is (according to the meaning of the original Greek) knowing what is good or smart and foolishly ignoring your own brain’s instructions.

Granted I think there can be a very fine line between appropriate and inappropriate.  Are my picture posts of Patty and me at the beach last weekend vain and prideful or just a courteous way to share with our friends about something we enjoyed? It can be a tough question to answer.  If I were to try to lay out some guidelines for a Christian in how to conduct themselves on social media, I think I would have the suggestions listed below – most of which are prohibitions on certain types of uses.  It may seem like I am being legalistic about this; but when you think about it, the suggestions are mainly just common sense.

Don’t post angry.  Scripture warns us against being angry or doing anything rash when we are angry.  There is a good reason for this because where anger exists, sin is not far behind.  If you find yourself drafting a social media post while you are angry, stop, take a moment to catch your breath, and then walk away.  Give yourself the time to calm down.  Perhaps you won’t want to make the post then and it will certainly save you some regret later on.

Don’t complain. Complaining is a sin. Period.  We all (myself included) need to work on being more joyful and complaining less.  Social Media is more than just a passing verbal complaint.  You are putting it in writing.  Just don’t do it.

Don’t bully pulpit.  Once again, there is a fine line between expressing one’s views and trying to push an agenda across the social media platform.  When the issues are politics or personal pet peeves or the like, I can easily suggest steering away from it.  However, it is harder when we get to spiritual things.  By nature as evangelicals, we believe we should be sharing the message of salvation through any means we can.  Some can interpret our use of social media to spread the gospel as engaging the bully pulpit – especially if you have been engaging the bully pulpit for all your other causes as well.  If we steer away from using social media as a bully pulpit for other reasons, the online world will probably give us some measure of grace on the spiritual things.   I wrote a blog a while back on this very subject of sharing the gospel with social media.  You can read that at "The Gospel in 140 Characters".

Don’t be vain.  Again, the line is very thin between being “social” and being vain.  However, I think you and I both know when we are posting something for prideful or vainglorious purposes.  Remember that 1 Corinthians 10:31 says to do everything for God’s glory – not for our glory.  If you hesitate to post something because there’s something in the back of your mind telling you “this is vain,” – don’t post, because that is your conscious guiding you to purity.

Don’t get your validation from the online community.  Our self worth is found in the fact that we have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and adopted as children of God.  We don’t need eleventy-seven “likes” to validate our self-image.  We don’t need to look to Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or whatever other social platform to get our self worth.  We just need to look to Jesus.

Don’t waste the time you have been given.  This may very well be the most dangerous of all of the inappropriate social media habits.  Exactly how much time are you wasting in your daily scroll?  The worst part is, the more “friends” we have, the longer we tend to spend perusing statuses.  After all, we don’t want to miss anything “important,” right?  Think about it this way.  We have been entrusted with a precious gift from the master – our time.  We will be held accountable for how we use that gift and if we are not good stewards it, we will have to answer to the master (see Matthew 25, Luke 19, and 2 Thessalonians 3).  Spend the time instead in God’s Word or in prayer or in doing good. 

These are just a few guidelines I thought about – thoughts I had for myself more than anything else, but perhaps they can help you as well.  You may have other thoughts on the subject. I would certainly like to hear them.  Please comment here - or - on my social media link to this blog...  Of course by asking, I realize that I am encouraging your use of social media.  Oh, the irony.