Worship Revisited

Just Do It?

Back on January 23 I published a blog about how you can know that worship is taking place. It was a rather tongue in cheek rant that you can read in the archives by clicking the proper link on the right side of this page.

Since then it has been interesting to see it travel about the web. Other bloggers have referred to it, and have commented on it, and readers of other blogs have commented on it. I don't permit comments on this blog because I don't want to read them all and I am not interested in getting into a "dialogue"--much to feely-meely for me.

Anyway, I have enjoyed what people have written on other blogs that have linked to this one. The most common reaction, it seems, goes something like this: "How do you know whether someone is worshipping or not? That person with hands up, or clapping, or bouncing to the tune may be worshipping in their own way. You don't know people's hearts."

Well, they got that right. I don't presume to know people's hearts, for that knowledge is reserved for God alone--it is off limits even for the devil. [You didn't know that? Maybe there are some other things you don't know.]

But so what? It is a non-sequitur. Not knowing people's hearts has nothing to do with knowing whether a person is worshipping. Doesn't the Bible say anything about worship? Is the theme of the Bible this afterall: "Let everybody just do their own thing?" Then why did God bother, if He did not have some very important things to say about Himself and how He is to be served?

Look up Nadab and Abihu. King Uzziah. King Saul. Ananias and Sapphira. Just for a start. Then try the Second Commandment. If you want more, try to find out what the Apostle Paul meant by "will worship" in Colossians 2:23.

That is, if you are interested in such stuff. How people worship is not important, is it?