WWS: What Is Worship?

I read this earlier in the week.

Is the author right on? Is he missing something?

Let me know what you think. Give me some honest feedback in the comment section.

We must seek to truly worship God in “spirit and in truth” while realizing that has little to nothing to do with external modes of expression that we fight over (i.e. clapping, instruments, power point, old songs/new songs, order of worship, meeting at the building Sunday nights, etc.). God has been and will continue to be more concerned with the condition of our hearts than with our methods (“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”- Is 29:13; Mt 15;8, Mk 7:6).

This specific issue was addressed by Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. One major issue (there were plenty) dividing these two people groups was the way in which Samaritans and Jews went about expressing their worship to God (mode of expression). Jesus is talking to her about receiving the living water but the woman immediately jumps into a defensive posture concerning the differences in worship styles (in this case the place where worship happens). Jesus points out that there is a time coming when God won’t have to be worship on the mountain or in the temple. He says that the modes will be rendered obsolete because true worship isn’t about a place it is about worshiping in the Spirit and worshiping the truth.

We have for years misquoted John 4:21-24 to in essence say that if you are expressing your worship in way that deviates from tradition than you are no longer worshiping “in spirit and in truth.” According to John 14:6 worshiping the truth has more to do with Jesus Christ than with following a detailed plan. We also wrongly marry this passage to 1 Cor 14:40 (everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way) to further cloud the true meaning of Jesus’ words on worship.

In all our arguments over worship very little of our energy is spent on the object of our worship, Almighty God. We instead focus on following the “letter of the law.” We therefore worship the expression (mode) more than than the object (God). 2Cor 3:6 reminds us that the “letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

For us, following the letter has killed relationship after relationship. Because of worshiping a mode over God churches won’t associate with one another. Trees are killed and ink is spilt so that we can denounce one another because a perceived rule has been broken.

This is what outsiders see.

They see us focused on shooting each other and they scratch their heads wondering what all this has to do with loving God and loving others.

-Eric Blair, Looking Back on the Worship Wars, p.84