[Series Exploring The Mysteries Of Real Worship] Wired To WorshipSample

Wired by the Creator to Be a Worshipper 

Worship is about value. People automatically gravitate toward the things they value. Worship is our expression of what is of most worth to us. It could be a job, a status, a sport, a feeling, a person, or an activity. What we adore automatically becomes a behavior or a pattern of life.

A corporate executive who places a high value on his accomplishments at work will passionately give himself to achieving status or influence in his job. He may leave for the office at 4 a.m. to beat the traffic and get some work done before the day begins. He stays late and misses the dinner his wife has prepared. By the time he gets home, his children are already in bed. This occurs repeatedly; as a result, his children grow up without spending much time with him or really knowing their father.

There are times when one must work hard, start early, and perhaps stay late. When a company or project is in crisis, or one needs to meet a necessary deadline, it’s important to put forth the extra time and effort. However, when a person repeats this behavior day after day and year after year, he is demonstrating what he values and, therefore, what he worships. He has an appetite for achievement and accomplishment. He is determining that he values his work over his loved ones. It could be said that this man worships his achievements at work. 

I had a friend who had an insatiable craving to make money. As a stockbroker, Josh convinced buyers to purchase stocks that he knew might not be a good investment. I later found out that he was addicted to heroin. He craved the feeling the drug gave him. He lived for it, valued it and thought about it day and night. You could say that he worshipped heroin and would do almost anything to get some.

Josh spent countless hours violating his conscience, obsessing about making quick money, disobeying the Holy Spirit’s convictions, engaging in illegal activity, and harming his body. His drive to worship was focused on the wrong thing, and it destroyed his life. He ended up in prison and lost his family.

You and I will worship someone or something. That is how we were made—we are wired for worship. Whether we will worship something or someone worthy of our praise is up to us. Thousands of years of humanity have made it clear that the only One worthy of our praise is Jesus Christ.

Take it from here

Are there possessions, passions, and pursuits in your life that you may be driven to worship? Are they worthy of your time, your money, or your praise? What steps are you willing to take to reinstall the only One worthy of your praise in the throne of your heart?

Pray with me

Heavenly Father, only You are worthy of my praise. Please, show me anything that could be distracting me from You or, worse, that has taken my strength, my time, my thoughts, and my heart, so that I can get back to worshipping only You.