What makes worship…
Dec 5th, 2009 by ljkim
Most people understand that there’s a difference between the forms of worship and worship itself. So no one asks us why we don’t use candles or a particular liturgy, they already get that those things are just forms of worship that can be substituted for other things…you can worship with candles and incense and liturgy, or with some other form. So here’s the question: what makes worship Worship? If candles and liturgy don’t make worship Worship, then what does?
You can light incense and not worship, or light incense and worship (although I don’t think it’s the best way), what does one do that makes it worship or not-worship? In the same way you can read the Bible just to read the Bible, or you can read the Bible as worship, what makes it worship?
What makes it worship is the amount of worth you’re attributing to God. Worship is really a contraction of the word worth-ship. In worship you’re deliberately showing God what He’s worth. It’s no surprise then that Medieval Christians treated God approximately the way they treated Kings…to approximate His worth. And hippie-Christians of the Jesus movement treated God as a almost a transcendent drug or experience…to approximate His worth. The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard treated God as the deepest of philosophes…to approximate His worth. And this Worth-ship is reflected in the way each of these Christians did simple things like Bible-reading.
So here’s the question: on Sunday you’ll be going to a place, talking to some people, singing some songs, and listening to a Bible talk… Those are the forms – and anyone can go through the motions…but how exactly are you worshiping?
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