by Matthew Bassford
Synopsis: Paul encouraged the Corinthian disciples to manifest undistracted devotion to Christ (1 Cor. 7:35). Devotion, which may be defined as "love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause," is an essential characteristic of worship.
All of us know what it’s like to “go through the motions” in worship. We’re singing a familiar hymn on Sunday morning, but our mind wanders to the exciting football game we watched yesterday. We spend more time during the Lord’s Supper reflecting on the nasty taste of those single-serve Styrofoam pellets than we do on the death of Jesus. Our stomach growls during the closing prayer, and we are transported in spirit to Cracker Barrel.
Anyone watching us at these times would conclude that we had adequately checked our act-of-worship boxes, but in truth, checking the boxes was all we did. Herein lies a great spiritual danger! Many of us learned from our youth to despise the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, and shudder in pious horror at His depiction of their hypocrisy in Matthew 6:1-6.
However, if we pay close attention to what the mirror of the word is showing us in that context, we may not like what we see. The Pharisees worshiped in order to impress others, but if we aren’t worshiping out of devotion to God, whom are we seeking to impress? Isn’t it our brothers and sisters, the ones who will give us the side-eye if we don’t sing, if we don’t partake, if we trot off to Cracker Barrel five minutes early? If our “worship” is about them, we need to listen to what the Lord says about our reward.
The key to receiving that reward in eternity rather than now is our devotion to God. He never is indifferent to us, even when we are indifferent to Him, but the day will come when most will long for His indifference! Conversely, when we pour out our hearts before Him, we awaken His compassion. Devotion in worship is not a luxury that we award God when we feel like it. It is vital.
Even before the church was established, Jesus highlighted the importance of devoted worship, sometimes when we would not expect Him to do so. The most notable of these unexpected discussions appears in John 4:19-24 during His conversation with the woman at the well.
She has figured out that He is a prophet, and she wants Him to settle a religious dispute. Where should people worship God, at the Jerusalem temple like the Jews, or on Mt. Gerizim like the Samaritans? Is it “A” or “B”?
Jesus tells her, though, that “C” is the answer. In the hour that now has arrived, the attitude of worshipers will be far more important than their physical location. Worshiping in the temple or on the mountain doesn’t matter; worshiping in spirit and in truth matters greatly.
Worshiping in truth isn’t terribly hard to figure out, but worshiping in spirit is much more of a puzzle. Perhaps the best way to think about it is in terms of spiritual location. Jesus observes that God is spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit.
The image of Artemis that fell from heaven was located in Ephesus, so those who wanted to worship that image had to worship in the temple in Ephesus. By contrast, the God who fills all things is everywhere and nowhere, i.e., His presence is not restricted to a specific physical location (1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 139:7–16; Acts 17:24–28). Anybody anywhere can draw near to Him, but they must draw near by seeking Him inwardly, according to His nature. Autopilot worship, even if offered in the auditorium of a building that says “church of Christ” on the sign out front, doesn’t qualify.
We see a very different kind of worship in Psalm 25:1. There, the NASB95 reads, “To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” This statement appears three times in Psalms, each time in a context of trouble and distress (Pss. 25:1; 86:4; 143:8). Surrounded by enemies that were too great for him to overcome, David lifts up his soul to God. This expression is rich in meaning. It shows that the psalmist has thrown himself entirely on God’s mercy. His whole being is involved in his appeal because he has no other hope. There is nothing left in his mind but his need and his Redeemer.
Sometimes, we find it very easy to lift up our souls to God. Generally, this happens when we (or our loved ones) face great and obvious peril. However, is less fervent worship than this ever appropriate? Is there ever a time in our lives when we are not in great danger from which only God can deliver us? Is there ever an occasion of worship when it’s appropriate to divert part of our attention away from Him? If we don’t lift up our souls to the Lord, completely and regularly, something isn’t right.
Also, we must consider the instrument upon which we are to play in worship. The familiar text of Ephesians 5:19 tells us that we must sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. I’ve seen T-shirts that say the voice is the only instrument authorized by God. Actually, the heart is.
Here, too, we encounter a deep scriptural concept. The Biblical heart is not the heart of Disney movies, i.e., the seat of the emotions. Instead, we ought to think of it as the mind-and-heart, the place where intellect and emotion intersect. Thus, the heart is both enlightened by the knowledge of Christ in Ephesians 1:18 and broken by the weeping of friends in Acts 21:13. We struggle with this idea because the Western worldview falsely supposes that intellect and emotion can be separated, but their joint functioning is central to the Biblical ideal of devoted worship.
A rote recital of “Trust and Obey” does not play upon the heart. Neither does a repetitive, low-content praise song that leaves half the congregation weeping and wanting to raise their hands to Jesus. God wants all of us in worship, and part of us, even the emotional part, never can be enough.
When our whole heart is involved in our worship, it creates the most memorable worship experiences of our lives. I still remember the first time I sang “And Can It Be?” It was during a college devotional in Houston when I was going to law school. I’m not a crier, but I wept as I sang.
However, what moved me to tears was not mere emotionalism. Rather, it was my mind-and-heart response to the second verse: “You left Your Father’s throne above, So free and infinite Your grace, Emptied Yourself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race.”
Surely the last two lines are the greatest summary of Philippians 2 in our hymn repertoire. Christ emptied Himself, and He bled for us. What a magnificently moving thought! It leaves me helpless before His divine love. I have no trouble lifting up my soul when stirred by sentiments such as that!
As all of this should make clear, the responsibility for devoted worship is shared. It falls first on worship leaders, whether they are leading the congregation in singing, prayers, presiding at the Lord’s table, or proclaiming the word of God. Throughout the Old Testament, we see that the spirituality of God’s people generally reflects the spirituality of their leaders. Much the same thing holds true for our worship leaders today. Their preparedness, commitment, and zeal have a powerful influence over the hearts of the congregation, both for good and ill. Those who lead will do well to remember the weight of this solemn responsibility.
However, all of us also must remember the burden that lies on our own shoulders. It doesn’t matter if the man up front isn’t taking his role seriously. We still must take our worship seriously. It doesn’t matter if the hearts of those around us already are savoring the biscuits at Cracker Barrel. During periods of worship, we must be fully and completely committed to the delights of glorifying God.
