Everybody Worships Something

When God created us, He created us as worshippers. We were designed to worship Him. Because of sin, much of humanity does not worship the one, true God. But they still worship something.

“They” say we now live in a secular society. That is, faith and religion in traditional forms are not so central as they once were. But even though church attendance may be in decline, still, everybody worships something.

It seems that people, when not devoted to worshipping God, will worship something in the realm of pleasure, or position, or power. An example of pleasure might be worshipping a sports team. And it would be hard to deny that a good segment of our society worships sports. A worship of position is illustrated by how job or salary makes one feel good about oneself. Many people worship their job title or portfolio. A worship of power is illustrated by a devotion to politics, living and dying with polls, pontificators, and elections.

Passionate worshippers of politics have grown more numerous of late. Their “preachers” are well-paid opinion-sharers on cable TV. Congregations of people sit in rapt attention, and are anxious to share their best quotes. Rallies are substitute church services. There is an understanding of how good worshippers in this “religion” should show their loyalty, how they should talk about certain issues, and how to determine who is “in” and “out”. It is no less worship than Israel at Passover, or Christians at Lord’s Table. Oh, the content is completely different. One is true; others are false. But the frameworks of the diverse manifestations of worship are similar.

A point that Christians must face is that, just as it was possible in the OT to sacrifice to God at the Temple and at the same time to sacrifice to Baal at the high places, so we can be guilty of professing to worship God in Christ with a whole heart, and yet be caught up with other activities of worship/ idolatry. And it’s wrong. God hates it. As John says at the end of  1 John, “little children, keep yourself from idols.”

Those who live and die with Jesus (as depicted in one’s baptism), are not to live and die with a sports team, with the stock market, or with a politician, a party, or an election. God designed us to worship Him, and to worship Him alone. In this area, God is not willing to share. He wants and expects all of our worship.