Why We Should Worship God?

Question Text:  I hate being a slave to anybody.  So why does God make us worship him like we are just his slaves?  I think we were born to be free and if he just makes us worship Him, I think he is so selfish.

 

Answer Text:   Truly worship is beneficial to the one who worships God and not to God Himself.  Now read on.

 

The question of worship is a very interesting one.  Our atheist friends have misunderstood worship and they blame God for being selfish or they think He is a tyrant.   But if you understand worship in its proper context, I am sure you will want to be one of the best worshippers.

Let us look at worship in this way. Now, we all know that man is a very heavily dependent being. For example, we depend on the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat to maintain our physical bodies. Can you imagine living without depending on any of these for your physical life? Then, man has a mind which also has to be fed regularly. Imagine someone who has never been to school and never tried to train and maintain his mind. What kind of a life would he be living on this earth? So we depend on our society, our education, entertainment, etc. to maintain our minds in a healthy manner. Now,  the Bible teaches us that man is more than just body and soul and that man has body, soul and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). The spirit element is man is the god-element in him. And this spirit also needs to be nourished and cherished regularly in order for man to enjoy the best that life offers. God who is the Eternal Spirit has allowed us to feed on Him to nourish our spirits and this is what we do when we worship God.

So when we worship God, please understand that we are doing the greatest favor for ourselves by feeding our weak and ill-nourished spirits by being in contact with the eternal and self-existing almighty power of God.   So, when you worship God, you are the beneficiary of worship and NOT God. The bible says God has life in Himself ( Jn. 5:26).  Just as for our physical life we depend of physical things, for the metaphysical we depend on the metaphysical and for our spiritual existence we MUST DEPEND on the source of all life who is God and God has permitted us to draw from Him as much as we want and be the healthiest people around.

When we praise and worship Him the power of God charges our spirits like weak batteries are recharged by electricity. When we pray, we use the power of God to achieve things for us and for others for whom we pray. These are the days of battery operated cars. We are very similar to these batteries which need constant recharging. Oh, yes, without electric power you could do a lot of things. Sure, you could do a lot of things without being in contact with God.  You know that electricity will make a big difference in any industry.   Just like that your connection with God will do much more than electricity would to any industry. This is for sure. Would you rather be a tread mill or be an electrified mill? I have chosen to be an electrified one and I know it has made a world of difference to me.

 

 

Can a non-Christian join in a worship service?

Worship is human response to divine revelation. When ever and where ever the vision of the Lord was seen the immediate response of the one who saw it was one of falling at the feet and worshipping. If there is a desire in our hearts to worship Him, it is because we too have seen Him with the eyes of faith. One who has never seen Him could never worship Him.

Now, you ask me if a non-Christian can join in praise and worship as a Christian does. Well, Public worship is a time when the people of God gather together to worship their God. Usually in a Christian meeting where preaching and teaching is involved, all are allowed to join in. And naturally all our meetings begin with the worship of God. Then we invite non-Christians as observers even on a Sunday worship meeting. Some even come to observe the Holy Communion services. To ask them to join us after the praise and worship would not be practical in any way. On the other hand, some have come to know the Lord simply by attending a full fledged praise and worship meeting where there was no preaching of the Word was scheduled!

It is true that a non-Christian can not worship God because he is dead in spirit. But being present in a meeting where praise and worship is going on might give him an opportunity to come to know the living God. Please read what the Psalmist says. `And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, And shall trust in Jehovah` (Psa 40:3 ASV). Don`t you want your non-Christian friends to fear and trust in the Lord? The Psalmist says that when they see us praising God with a new song, many will fear and trust in the Lord! May that be so even in these days. To His name be glory. Amen.