Generosity: The Generous Creator's Abundant World Намуна

True Worship

Modern church worship usually revolves around singing songs together or reading our Bibles and praying by ourselves. For the ancient Israelites, worship involved fasting and offering animal sacrifices at the temple, among other things. The sacrifices were intended to cleanse them from the defilement of death’s effects in the world around them and from their own death-dealing behavior.

But we forget (like ancient Israel often forgot) that God designs worship to be inseparable from our everyday life. Worship is to be something that forms our thoughts, affections and ways of being. In other words, everything we do can be an act of worship. And true worship prompts us to turn from our death-dealing ways and redirect our thoughts, affections and actions — marked by loving and generous concern for others — back toward God’s purposes.

In fact, Isaiah 1:10-17 tells the Israelites that their “worship” sacrifices are meaningless because the people aren’t following God’s ways. They’re taking advantage of the defenseless and ignoring the needs of others. And Isaiah 58 declares that true fasting means sharing their food so that others can eat. In other words, worshiping God involves caring for other people, all of whom are created in his image. As Jesus explains, when we feed the hungry, offer hospitality to the stranger or clothe the naked, we are actually loving and caring for him (Matthew 25:31-46), which is the essence of true worship.

Reflection:

When you think of worship, what types of activities come to mind?

The Apostle Paul would not understand the concept of a worship “service” and might even balk at the notion. He sees worship as an entire way of life to be embraced in community gatherings along with all the activities of everyday life. What would happen if we saw worship as a way of life rather than a brief, weekly, musical event?

How would it change the way you see acts of generosity if you viewed them not only as good works but also as acts of true worship directed toward Jesus?