What is Worship?

Worship is so much more than music, but when someone says, “Let’s worship,” I hear, “Let’s sing.”

I quickly found as a child that “worship” took on two forms: loud, silly songs with hand motions or somber, serious hymns with the cool books from the pews. There wasn’t an in between in my mind. I just remember being a huge fan of the slide projector that put song lyrics on the walls, so everyone could singalong. I’ve know it’s more than that for quite some time now, but as a kid, that’s just what I thought.

This week I’m pondering a new definition of worship though. What does the word worship really mean? What does scripture say about worship? In worship track, Kyle Jones, a guest speaker and worship pastor, shared that the foundation of worship is to serve and obey the Lord. The Hebrew words for work and worship are the same, and worship is not an activity or action but a state of being. In Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” The phrase “to work and to keep” refers not to working and keeping the garden, but serving and obeying God. God placed Adam in the Garden to serve and obey the Lord. Our lives are to be a constant state of worship, and worship is service and obedience.

That doesn’t mean singing cannot be a form of worship, but these ideas bring a whole new meaning to “living in a continual state of worship.” If my desire is to serve and obey the Lord, the forms of worship are endless because the creativity of our God is limitless. Worship is so much more than we make it. Serving the poor, getting enough sleep, making time for loved ones, eating healthy meals, or setting aside a Friday night for bar ministry can all be acts of worship. I cannot mindlessly sing the same songs I’ve always sang and do the same things I’ve always done. True worship can’t be confined to my defaults and habits or my last mountain-top experience with God.

If God asks me to feed the homeless or preach a sermon, singing isn’t obeying Him, and I don’t want to respond to Him with singing. If my mom asked me to do chores as a child, and I sang to her instead, she would not be pleased. I could be singing a beautiful, honoring song to her, but it still would not serve or obey her request.

Obedience implies connection. The Oxford English Dictionary defines obedience as “compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.” Instead of assuming God’s plans for today, I think living in accordance with His will requires continually seeking Him, being with Him, asking Him questions, listening to His voice, and most of all, responding to Him. As I follow Him, God provides opportunities for me to worship Him, and I can choose to say yes.

Another quote from Kyle that keeps playing back in my head is, “Maybe our obedience isn’t for us to enjoy, but that others may live.” Sometimes God’s requests are not about me and my pleasure. He is using me and His people to bring freedom, life, and blessing to those around us. Not every act of obedience is easy, fun, safe, or understandable from my human point of view. I may never fully grasp the weight of the choices God leads me too, but His ways are so much greater than mine. There are people I will impact in my life who I may never know or even meet, and that is beautiful.

Serving and obeying God, whether or not it makes sense to me, requires greater trust, submission to His will, and intimacy, and I’m starting to think that is what life is all about. Maybe living in a continual state of worship isn’t about self-discipline and rule following, but about constant connection and a heart postured towards the Lord.

As Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

So, as you go about your week, consider what it means to truly worship the Lord. I don’t know if I’ll every be a perfect worshipper, but I want to learn to worship well. If we are created to be worshippers, I don’t want to limit my life to singing. I want to learn to serve and obey in Spirit and in truth.