What Does it Mean to Worship God?
By: Emily Rose Massey
“And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets’” – Matthew 22:37-40, NASB.
Did you know that everyone was created to worship? Yes, even those who would not consider themselves religious, worship something or someone.
Worship is ascribing worth to something or someone. It is what you devote your time, your devotion, your affection, your finances, your heart to. If you allow yourself to really reflect on this, you will know in your heart what you worship.
As humans, we were created to worship God, but after sin came into the world, we started to worship everything but God. This tension, to worship God vs anything and anyone else, exists in the heart of every single man, woman, and child.
If you ascribe ultimate worth to anything besides God Almighty, that person or thing is what the Bible calls an idol. And when it comes to God, he doesn’t want you to give yourself away fully to anything or anyone but himself. He’s not egotistical or prideful; he loves us perfectly and wants us to love him over everything else. So how do we make sure we are worshiping God and not creating idols?
We begin by fixing our attention and affections on God, giving him the upmost glory in and through our lives. Worshiping God creates an atmosphere in our hearts that is conducive to seeing God mold us more and more into the image of Jesus. Seeking God first and foremost means our hearts begin to long for the things of God, versus the things of this world more and more each day that we walk with God.
The more I worship God by giving him first place in my life, the more my heart becomes a breeding ground for selfless love to be produced in us and through us. When the Lord begins to sanctify us and mold us and change our hearts, we are then able to love others with the Father’s love.
In Matthew 22, Jesus responds to a group of Pharisees and Sadducees who ask him to define the greatest commandment in the law:
“And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:37-40, NASB).
In prayer one day, as I was pondering this, I began singing this simple chorus:
Cultivate the ground of my heart
‘til it yields a harvest of lasting fruit
for Your purpose
for Your plan…
How does God cultivate the ground of your heart?
Through worship- seeking God Almighty first and foremost and surrendering your life completely to Him more and more every day.
Worship is not just singing to the Lord (although that’s important). It is denying yourself and saying “yes” to him every single day of your life. From seeking God in prayer or by sharing the gospel with those he places in your path, or by praying for those who are hurting, every “yes” to God is worship. When we love God with all that we are, our hearts can’t help but overflow with his love for others.
Take some time to reflect upon what is getting all of your attention, affections, and time. Who or what do you worship? Yourself? Your plans? Your job? Money? Nice clothes? Everything in this world will pass away, except for love (1 Corinthians 13). Are there areas in your life that you are holding back from God? The more we say “yes” to God, the more He can mold our hearts and they will overflow with His perfect Love.
