Why Worship?
Why do people worship and does worship have any tangible benefit? Polling by a number of research groups suggests that Americans are losing interest in worship. Church attendance is falling all across the country and more and more people identify themselves as unaffiliated with any particular religious institution. So, has worship lost the importance in American culture it once held?
If worship is defined with words, such as adoration, praise, devotion, sacrifice, prayer, and reverence for that which is greater than ourselves, then I would suggest that Americans rival any people on earth in their devotion to worship. In fact, I believe a case can be made that Americans are intoxicated with worship.
Worship, of course, doesn’t imply that people are humbly bowing before the Lord of Creation; Americans’ enthusiasm for worship simply means that they are devoted and zealous for something other—gods of a different ilk—a sporting event, for instance, or their favorite team or player, a famous movie star, maybe a politician, concert artist or some other celebrity. The obscene amounts of money and fame these people and events accrue are proof enough of their divine status in American culture.
Built into the human DNA is the yearning to worship, to idolize and devote ourselves to some person, cause or higher power. Worship is not just a biblical concept but is found among all peoples and cultures. The Old Testament or Hebrew Bible speaks of other nations who devoutly worshipped their gods. Their worship was every bit as sincere and committed as the worship of Israel. Worship is not unique to either Israel or the church but is an instinctive human trait.
It is not worship that has declined in America but the worship of the Lord of all Creation. Worship itself is alive and well. Millions upon millions of people are passionately devoted and make financial sacrifices to attend theaters, sporting events, concert halls, or political rallies or some other all consuming passion. Take sporting events as one example. Millions of sport’s fans zealously follow their favorite team. They fill stadiums on Saturdays and Sundays, or stay glued to television sets for hours on end. Instead of lives revolving around the seasons of the church—Advent, Lent or Pentecost—people’s lives revolve around the seasons of football, basketball and baseball.
It’s not just sports that Americans worship. We are addicted to all forms of entertainment and amusement, anything or any person who allows us to escape from the world in which we live can easily become an object of adulation, which is to say, worship.
A few weeks ago the writer Debbie Thomas wrote in The Christian Century, that worship is “formational.” In other words, we become like the object or objects we worship. Our worship forms and shapes us. Worship makes us the people we are. If we worship a loving, compassionate, and merciful God, we will become loving, compassionate, and merciful people.
If, on the other hand, we worship at the altars of endless entertainment, we will become a mentally stunted and spiritually malnourished people. To reach our potential as human beings requires that we stretch ourselves, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Too often amusements allow us to coast, to put our sentient natures on hold, which is not necessarily a bad thing unless the distractions take up too much space in our lives. A brownie or piece of chocolate after dinner usually isn’t a problem, but when our diet consists of too much sugar, we are likely to suffer the consequences.
In the Gospel of Luke (Lk. 4:8) Jesus cautions that we should worship only the Lord our God and serve only him. Jesus was well aware of the seducing effects of worshipping the gods of this world. The idols that we devote ourselves to provide immediate gratification and enjoyment. They limit our focus to selfish interests and seldom, if ever, open our eyes to the world beyond us.
I’m not saying that we can’t enjoy our amusements, things like sporting events, movies, concerts and the like. Amusements can be harmless and relaxing distractions that refresh our tired minds and bodies. I look forward to a good movie on occasion or an exciting ball game. Distractions move from refreshing amusements to destructive worship, however, when the object[s] that we enjoy becomes our first priority—the thing[s] that we think about most of the time. Then the harmless distraction ceases to be simply a pause from the routines of life and takes on a power that can control and shape our lives in a way that keeps us from reaching our full potential.
I find that taking breaks from the things that entertain me is a great way to keep them from becoming objects of worship. For instance, I take a break during the football season for two or three weeks, sometimes more, from watching my favorite team or even reading the sports page (Full Disclosure: since my favorite team has been terrible this year, I have not found these breaks a challenge). Sometimes I stop watching my favorite television show for several weeks or even months. My wife and I take breaks from watching news from time to time so that we can reorient our lives to what we hold most dear. If we find these breaks difficult or impossible, we may need to intentionally back away from whatever it is that has occupied our time or thoughts for a longer length of time.
When our priority is the Lord of Creation, and our worship is centered on the God of compassion and love, we will discover that our lives have less confusion, chaos, anxiety, anger, and fear. We will express more grace and less judgement toward other people. We will become less self-absorbed. You see, the worship of God is not for God’s benefit, it is for our own. The benefit of authentic worship shapes us into the people we are meant to be. It’s why we worship.
