Stop Selfish Worship

I recently attended a worship service that really disappointed me. I’m not trying to complain or immaturely claim that I wasn’t fed; I’m making an observation that the “worship service” included no real worship!

Did we sing songs? Yes. Were those songs worship songs? Not really. Okay – technically the songs fall under the worship genre, but the lyrics lacked any trace of worship. What is worship?

wor·ship [wur-ship]

noun 1) reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. 2) formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning. 3) adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.

These definitions reveal why I believe no worship was present in the service that I attended. You see there was no reverent honor or homage being paid to God. No adoring respect or regard could be found. In fact, Jesus Christ was not even mentioned once over the course of 4 songs! Instead, the songs were completely focused on self.

“Fill me up, God!”

“I want more of you, God.”

“There’s no place I would rather be.”

These lines were in every single chorus!

Now, am I saying that they are bad lyrics? By no means! I think it is a wonderful thing to ask for more of God and to enjoy His presence; however, I do believe we have started to put the focus on ourselves, and to seek nothing more than a fuzzy feeling or supernatural experience.

I would encourage you to continue seeking God’s comfort and wanting more of his presence. Just don’t let worship revolve around yourself! Worship is not selfish. It should be solely focused on bringing glory to God – exalting the name of Jesus Christ. We should be praising Him for the redemption He has provided and adoring His presence among us. We should be bragging on the wonderful attributes of Yahweh! Yet instead, we focus on ourselves.

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

I wish our worship services could assume this same mindset – focusing on the Gospel of Christ’s sacrifice. If only we could keep Jesus at the center of everything we do, even our corporate worship. It would be wonderful to see all of our praise revolve around the love, goodness, mercy, and holiness of our Lord! What I would not do to see “worship services” revived to times of real worship.

I encourage you to take this post to heart. Don’t let your worship be so selfish anymore; stop looking for a spiritual high or warm feeling! Instead, start beholding the awesome God that you serve. Begin praising His name and lifting Him up! After all, if your worship doesn’t fulfill this purpose of glorifying God, then it isn’t really worship.

Photo Credit: Sanderslelli / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND