Worship matters
What do sport, music, films, gaming, clothes and gardens all have in common? They are all things that we can enjoy. However, in extreme cases, they can consume us if they become too dominant.
For some this is an important part of life. Have you seen those people who adore certain film franchises and love to dress up as their favourite characters?
There are also those who are dedicated to a certain football club, and travel the length and breadth of the country to support them, dressed proudly in the team's ‘kit’.
For others it can be something closer to home... the garden, the car or even the home itself. Hours can be spent, maintaining, cleaning, polishing, and adjusting to make it just right.
The bible has a word for this kind of behaviour: worship. This may seem an odd word to use, but worship can be described as the things we give value, time and energy too.
What we worship matters. I recently read this in the Bible…
“They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.”
This verse concerns God’s people, Israel, in the Old Testament, turned their backs on Him. Instead of living in obedience to God’s ways, they rejected Him, and followed man-made god’s.
Israel should have been different, with God at the centre. They were called to follow God and by doing so to reveal His values and demonstrate His ways.
Instead, they ignored this and imitated the nations around them. They did not worship God and so became ‘God-less’. This was very sad.
As Christians, we too are called to live with God at the centre, to follow Him and demonstrate His ways and values. In other words, we are to worship Him first and foremost. By doing so I believe we become like Him.
Is God really worth this kind of devotion? I think so. The Bible describes God as loving, forgiving, merciful, kind and just. So, as we worship Him, His characteristics infiltrate us and we become like Him.
Let me encourage you today to put God first, to worship Him. Remember, what we worship matters.
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader