“What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.” (Leo Tolstoy)
“Boredom: the desire for desires.” (Leo Tolstoy)
““And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (Deut. 4:19)
We do a lot of things in life that we, as Christians, consider a part of ministry or worship to God. We work hard, give money, and help others, but we don’t actually think that the act of painting a house, handing a donation check to a charity, or lending a hand to another person is itself a religious and sacred act. At least we shouldn’t. These are merely means to an end. It’s subtle, but there is a temptation, especially in response to contemporary Christian music, for Christians to treat the music not as a means to an end, but as an end in itself. Any music can be of intrinsic value when it heightens the mood or lifts the spirit. But to worship God is to worship the creator, not the created. In this sense, music, as any other tool of worship, has the following role: to amplify our efforts in bringing worship to God. (Music can also help our souls resonate the deep truths of God that are otherwise inexpressible, and it can set an example for others.) But how often has the worship “experience” become a substitute for the real thing in your own life? Ask yourself the following questions:
1) Do I have difficulty approaching God in the silent moments?
2) Do I blindly raise my hands in response to a chord change or because of something deeper?
3) When is the last time my favorite song was based on lyrics rather than melody?
4) Am I passive in the worship experience or am I actively engaging my mind in appreciation and struggling to come to grips with who God is?
John 4:23 says ““But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Sometimes the best worship takes place in the the quietness of one’s own heart. What does a proper response to God look like? The Bible is replete with images of people literally falling down on their faces before the object of their worship. Have we missed something?
“And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God,
fell on their faces and worshiped God.” (Rev. 11:16)
WPF
