BORN TO WORSHIP

 

It seems that worship and service have been written into our DNA. Bob Dylan had written a song, "You Gotta Serve Someone," and it appears to be true.

We are devotees, some to gurus and others to rock stars. A video of Michael Jackson fans reveals adoration to the max - breaking through police lines to just get a glimpse of their god.

While some worship celebrities, others seek self-worship. While some worship by pursuing autographs from their idols, educated others disdain these forms of worship in favor of the worship of SELF-attainments - university degrees, the acquisition of knowledge, money, power, influence, and the adoration of others. 

Nevertheless, it seems that we are all in the worship business, but which form of worship is the most beneficial? Has our DNA been programmed to grant us a survival advantage? Well, what advantage do we accrue through self-worship or the worship of others? One breeds arrogance and eventual disappointment; the other vulnerability to abuse.

However, the worship of the God of the Bible is associated with many benefits - physically, mentally, and even sexually. Perhaps this is the form of worship our DNA had in mind.

The Cure for our Incurable Quest for Significance

In The Significant Life, attorney George M. Weaver argues that our quest for self-importance governs our lives:

• Individual humans are not concerned so much about the survival of the species as they are about their personal survival or significance. In order to push ourselves beyond our confining space-time limits, we as individuals try to set ourselves apart from the rest of humanity. It is unsettling to admit that one is average or ordinary – a routine person. (7)

Weaver documents this quest in many ways:

• Salvador Dali once said, “The thought of not being recognized [is] unbearable”…Lady Gaga sings, “I live for the applause, applause, applause…the way that you cheer and scream for me.” She adds in another song, “yes we live for the Fame, Doin’ it for the Fame, Cuz we wanna live the life of the rich and famous.” (7)

The quest for fame and significance can be as demanding and life-controlling as our quest for food. It can take many forms. For Lady Gaga, it takes the form mass adoration. However, the quest for adoration never seems to produce contentment.

Comedian Al Jolson had achieved fame, but it was never enough to insulate him from jealousy:

• According to his biographer, “He once had a team of performing elephants fired because he thought the audience liked them too much.” (59)

Nor does fame protect us against bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, fear, and anger. Instead, this quest takes us captive and will not let us go.

What then is the answer? Can we derive our worth – our self-definitive – apart from performance or any other characteristic of ourselves? Can we find freedom from self-obsession?

Some find temporary relief through relationships and sexual conquests. However, these relationships rarely match expectations. Besides, we might place too much pressure on the other to meet our needs for significance. They may not always see us as the quintessential sex god/goddess or even lover.

Jesus promised:

• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

He promised “rest” for our weary souls. He gives this supernaturally, but He also gives it cognitively. Having become convinced of His unchanging love for me, I can now begin to shed concerns about who I am and what others think about me. The important thing is that I am His – forever. Consequently, I am no longer defined by my achievements or acclaim, but by the fact that I belong to Him.

His love has given me a freedom that I never had. Because I know that He loves me despite my unlovable traits, I can now be transparent about these things and take responsibility for my failures.

Before, I couldn’t fail. Failure had been too painful. It told me that I was inadequate, a nothing, and a loser.

I still want to achieve, but it’s for Him – the One who loves me and died for my sins.

Hating Church

I am more convinced than ever that everything we need is found in Christ. Let me give you just one example. Sundays had been my hardest day. Going to church was not only dissatisfying; it was also an emotional obstacle course.

I compared it with going to a singles dance, only to watch all the young ladies chasing the other guys. It was also like going to a gourmet restaurant. The waiter would bring all of his appetizing plates to my nose before placing it down in front of someone else. Frustration! Anger – absolutely the last time!

That was my church experience. I tried many churches, hoping to be asked to teach only to see the dishes pass me by to be placed down in front of others. I was angry! What the matter with me that I was consistently passed over? Silence was the only answer I ever received. How then was I to enjoy church – the very place where I was consistently rejected?

However, in the midst of this painful set of experiences, I was granted something far better – the assured and ever-present awareness that Jesus died for me!  I now love the hymns of His mercy and the price He paid for me. The confession of sins and the accompanying assurance of forgiveness have become more valuable to me than teaching 20 classes and rejoice that my name is written in the Lamb’s book! Confidence in His recognition has become more meaningful than any human recognition. In short, I now look forward to corporate worship!

How did this slow and necessary transformation occur? Let me try to explain it. However, it might not be as easy as I would like. I can’t give you three easy transformational steps. It comes from above as do all good things. However, I think that I can put my finger on the critical element behind this change – a growing awareness of the depth of my sin and my utter hopelessness before it.

Although I knew that I was a sinner, I had minimized its depth – its extent and ugliness. Self-righteousness is the human default. When we humans elevate ourselves, we diminish the Lord and His gift of righteousness. In order to do this, we cover our sins with rationalizations – good deeds, attainments, popularity, and even money. Adam and Eve foolishly attempted to cover their sins with fig leaves.

Our coverings are no less foolish. I attempted to cover mine with positive affirmations about my surpassing value as a person. But I was paying a tremendous price for this fix. For positive affirmations to work, they must be believed. However, when we believe them, we lie to ourselves and distort the way we see reality, even the way we regard our Savior! It also takes time to root out this blindness and to clearly see ourselves (Rom. 12:3).

Self-righteousness – the belief that we are worthy - prevents us from appreciating the extent of the mercy of Christ. After all, if we are worthy, we will not highly esteem Christ’s gift. Jesus’ disciples had asked Him to increase their faith. Instead, He instructed them to regard themselves as unworthy servants (Luke 17:10). As long as we regard ourselves as worthy, we will not appreciate the fullness of Christ’s worthiness and love for us. As long as we regard ourselves as deserving, Christ will not receive the glory and honor He deserves. The higher we value ourselves, the less we will value our Savior and the less we will rejoice in Him.

What has Christ taught me? This may sound strange, but, mercifully, He taught me that I am among the worst sinners – totally unworthy of anything that is His, even a smile or a “thank you!”

Oddly, this realization, as painful as it had been, liberated me from church-angst. Before, the hymns and other forms of worship had left me feeling that I didn’t fit. In my heart, I wasn’t adoring Christ as I ought. In this vacuum, my life was more about me and less about Him. However, as I began to see my unworthiness in 3-D, I grew in gratefulness of Him. My eyes therefore turned to Him and away from the bondage to self-obsessions.

As the Apostle Paul had stated, dying to self-esteem and self-trust is a critical element of the Christian life:

• But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything [I had trusted in] a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  (Phil. 3:7-9)

Gaining Christ - our confidence in Him - is a matter of investing all of our trust in Him and not in our own pedigree or attainments. It is a matter of regarding our own “righteousness” for what it is – garbage!

Over time, this realization made a great difference in my life. I no longer have to prove myself. Instead, my entire identity and personhood are buried in Christ (Gal. 2:20). However, there are also other essentials. Professor of systematic theology, Joel Beeke, wrote:

• Obedience increases assurance… William Ames wrote, “He that doth rightly understand the promise of the covenant cannot be sure of his salvation unless he perceives in himself true faith and repentance.”

This means that we are not going to have the confidence, joy, and gratefulness that we ought unless we are devoted to the Lord. In line with this, Paul assured would-be deacons that devotion to this work (among many other forms of service) would produce “great confidence in the faith” (1 Tim. 3:13).

In short, as we grow in faith and obedience, we will also grow in gratefulness to our Lord and in joy of worship, while we decrease in our own esteem. He must grow greater!