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UNION GROVE CHURCH OF CHRIST, CLEVELAND TN.
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“If worshipping in spirit means with the right attitude -- will worshipping when we have a wrong attitude mean our worship is in vain? Please discuss.”
There is such a thing as true worship. We make this conclusion based on the fact that Jesus spoke of “true worshippers” (John 4:23). What did the Master say that true worshippers do? “. . . the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (4:23). It is plain that God-pleasing worship is that worship which is offered to Him, it is offered in spirit, and it is offered in truth, that is, in harmony with God’s word (John 17:17). Our enquirer raises a most practical question. If I, as a child of God, present worship to Him with a wrong attitude or disposition, does that make my worship vain? To say that worship is vain indicates that it is worthless, not hitting the intended goal of pleasing the Creator. Our Lord said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). Jesus’ words make it plain that following the teachings of men makes worship vain and unacceptable. So does worshipping with a wrong attitude. In the days of Malachi, there were serious issues related to the Jews’ worship of Jehovah. In Malachi 1:6,7, it is written, “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised they name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible” (Malachi 1:6,7). What were the Jews of that era doing? Worshipping God. They worshipped God, but their attitude stunk. Evidence of such is seen in these three truths: (1) God accused them of not having proper honor and reverence for Him, (2) God accused them of despising His name (though they still worshipped Him), and (3) They declared that the Lord’s table was “contemptible.” They also showed their dreadful attitude toward worship when they called it “a weariness” and sneered at it (1:13). Worship to the Lord must come from the heart in order to be acceptable to Him. For instance, when we break bread, we are supposed to do so in remembrance of the death of our Savior (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). If our attitude is not as it should be, then we eat and drink unworthily, eating and drinking damnation to ourselves (11:28,29). When we sing, we are to sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:17). We should read carefully the words that we sing and seriously ponder them in our minds. Some saints cannot be accused of singing with a wrong attitude, because they do not sing at all! I find that flabbergasting. Some brothers seldom, if ever, crack a songbook. They rarely sing. If they have a teenage son, then the chances are, at some point the son will stop singing, because, after all, old dad does not sing, so why should he? And, a nice young man, maybe 8-12 years old, observes that the high school male to whom he looks up does not sing, so he does not sing, either. Will someone please repent and stop this vicious cycle?! Another way that a poor attitude is manifested during worship services is to read or send text messages on a cell phone. Folks, if someone is sending you a text message during services, I guarantee you that God is not the sender, so you and I can just wait and check out the message after services are over! Any disposition on my part that causes me not to offer praise and honor to my Lord from the heart, is an unacceptable one. Talking during prayers is reprehensible. Many at least give a half-hearted nod of agreement to that statement, but then they turn around and cut up, talk, and in general pay no attention when a sermon from the Bible is presented. Think about this for a moment. Parents expect their kids to speak respectfully to them, but just as important is the truth that parents demand that their children listen attentively when the parents address them. Here is the parallel thought. From whence came the faulty notion that during those times when we speak to our heavenly Father in prayer, we need to hush, yet when our Father speaks to us through His word, then it is okay to talk, pass notes, send text messages, and not pay any attention?! Each one of the items that I have mentioned above is proof of a bad attitude, and to our enquirer and all others, we say, yes, worshipping with a wrong attitude does make our worship vain. Worship is one of the most simple of all biblical matters to understand. But, from a practical standpoint, worshipping in such a way that our minds are really, really, really focused on the King on His throne and our praise to Him, has to be one of the most challenging activities in which we engage. The human mind often struggles to stay focused. Distractions can get the best of us. Our minds can wander. This we all admit. As strange as it may sound, we really have to “work at it” to offer acceptable worship. But, let us avoid “like the plague” any disposition of heart that manifests disrespect for the Lord God. Husbands, as the head of your household, why not consider taking the time to discuss with your family the matter of maintaining a proper attitude both toward worship and during worship? Doing so just might help some good folks set their thinking straight, set the right example, and better set their attention on God in worship assemblies. -- Roger D. Campbell |
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