Redefining Worship
With Ben Potter
For the premise of this blog post I will be using two terms when discussing worship. ‘Worship’ and ‘worship’.
‘I am not a worshipper, I am not musical’ is a phrase that I am sure we have all either heard or have uttered ourselves during our Christian walks. It is a phrase that is common in our Christian vernacular and often accepted, but one I hope through this blog to assure us all that that is not the case.
Worship, I believe, is nothing more or less than the act of living for God, and because of that we are all capable of ‘worship’ and can be considered worshippers. ‘Worship’, in Old English was used to describe something of worth, and in the 1300s became synonymous with reverence being paid towards a higher being. The act of singing and music was not involved. In Hebrew and Greek, again the word we now use as ‘worship’ comes from a few words. Hebrew, the word Shachah, to prostrate oneself, revere and humbly beseech. In Greek there are three words, Proskuneo, Sebomai and Latreuo, all talking of reverence. In simple terms, the word we use as ‘worship', is an inadequate term for the true translation of Greek and Hebrew language. There are many other Hebrew and Greek words that discuss praise and its many forms, but what we can gather from these words is that to ‘worship’ our Father is to treat Him as Holy and submit our lives to Him, to take every breath in reverence of the Creator of our lungs, to see the world as our Creator deemed it to be.
When you honour your spouse, you ‘worship’ God. When you love your children, you ‘worship’ God. When you care for the sick and lonely, you ‘worship’ God. When you love your enemy, you ‘worship’ God. Every step we take that is under the direction of our Father and out of a heart to love and obedience to Him is an act of worship, and so again I say, we are all worshippers.
This covers ‘worship’, but what of ‘worship’, what of the term that we have all grown to accept as our basis of understanding for this word. To sing and play music in Church for our Lord. Well, despite all our daily tasks being an act of ‘worship’ towards our Lord, there is something separate, powerful and holy that comes from a corporate ‘worship’ moment. The very cause of the walls falling down around Jericho came from the people of God singing their praises to him, offering up ‘worship’ that was pleasing and powerful. A divine exchange takes place when the people of God gather together and offer up their hearts to their King.
Just over a year ago, I was walking outside of the will of God. I was determined to avoid the Church and believed I could be all that I needed to be in this life. My wife had been taking us to church and had jokingly tried to get me to lift my arms during the worship, but I refused. As someone who had grown up, always being known as a ‘worshipper’’, I had fallen far from the joy I used to have. I was soon confronted with my own fallibility and my life was a mess, and so I went back to church, hoping and seeking for an answer. I let go of my pride, my ego and my own embarrassment of what people might think and I lifted my hands in surrender. Just like in Jericho, the walls around my heart and my life came tumbling down and I found the pure joy and freedom that comes attached with Jesus Christ.
One of the best worshippers I have ever known was completely tone deaf and could not play an instrument. He would sing at the top of his lungs, and while completely out of key, his passion for his Father, his God, his King, was evident to see and something powerful would stir when he ‘worshipped’. We are all worshippers, in our daily life and especially on a Sunday.
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