I recently asked a church musician what he was learning about God as he led worship. He told me he had been so focused on worship that he couldn’t think about God. His admission shocked but did not surprise me. It simply pointed out how easily worship can become idolatry. To worship something is to value it above everything else. Idolatry is to prize something more than you prize God. Therefore, when the focus of my worship is on achieving a certain feeling, I am not worshipping God but idolizing my feelings.
In Mark 7, Jesus criticized the Pharisees by quoting a prophecy of Isaiah:
“This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Mark 7:6-7
When you worship, what is it that you seek above everything else? If it isn’t God, I have to ask, “Is that worship, or is it idolatry?”
I hadn’t thought of idolizing worship, but I think you’re right. We worship the Lord. Dr John Alexander of IVCF taught us to be careful about worship as performance. Did I do well? How many compliments did I get? It’s tricky to keep the ego out of it.
I also think some worship the Bible instead of following Jesus, but that’s another topic.
I appreciate your thoughts, Don.