Today’s 333 Devotional: “Worshiping God”

Worship is an integral part of God’s calling.

Whenever I think of our worship of God, the story of a 10-year-old boy’s birthday party comes to mind. He invited his eight best friends over. They played football and basketball, and ate hot dogs and hamburgers with a large birthday cake to top it off.

After opening his presents he took them the local high school basketball game. He envisioned them all sitting together eating popcorn and rooting for their team. But once he paid their admission price, they all scattered and sat with others leaving him all alone.

I believe this is how we treat God in our worship. We come to a worship service where God is the guest of honor. We give Him our routine gifts, sing a few songs, but totally neglect Him when it comes to living our lives, even though He paid our admission price. And the saddest part is that we’re totally unaware of it, believing that we have fulfilled our religious obligation.

Worship is an Anglo-Saxon word better-pronounced “worthship,” which meant to give worth or reverence to something or someone. In both the Greek and Hebrew language it means to bow down in humility and submission.

To worship God is then to humble ourselves in complete submission to God. It’s having the same attitude that John the Baptist had when he said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

Further, our worship of God is not an option; rather it’s a command. When Satan told Jesus that if He worshipped him all the kingdoms would be His.

Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Matthew 4:10)

True worship is not just going to a Sunday morning worship service; rather it is a daily way of life. In other words, what begins in the House of Prayer, needs to end up in the Public Square.