It's not about doing more

One of the things I have thought about during this message series (Wholly Habits, Wholly Living) is that each time we add a habit we are adding one more thing to do to our already busy schedules. However, that is not really the intent. It is not so much about doing more, but transforming the ways we do what we do. If anything, one of the goals of this message series would be for us to simplify our lives.

This is especially true when it comes to the discipline of worship. Worship is not intended to be one more thing we do on Sunday morning. Rather worship is everything we do. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God."

This past week I have been reading a book entitled "Becoming a True Worshipper" by Tom Kraeuter. In this book he relates the following story:

A professor was flying home after an exhausting weekend. He was tired and just wanted to be left alone. However, the flight attendant was so polite and helpful he finally said to here, "Delta Airlines is fortunate to have you working for them."

Her response stunned him. "Sir, my real employer is not Delta Airlines. I work for Jesus Christ. He is the greatest of all bosses."

Hmm. Sounds like doing all for the glory of God.

Worship is not an activity we do for just one hour on a Sunday morning. It is everything we do. If there is not a song for the Lord upon our hearts for 6 six days of the week, there will not be one on the seventh either. You can't just turn it on Sunday morning and then turn it off the rest of the week. God is all seeing and all knowing and we are only fooling ourselves if we think we can convince him of our adoration by a one hour charade on Sunday morning. We are called to a lifestyle of worship.

This is a mindset that will transform our worship. We will measure our worship in a whole new way. The measure of our worship will not what we get out of it. It will not be how in sync the praise team was on Sunday morning. It will not be how much we learned from the pastor's message. Rather it will be about the measure of the sacrifice of praise we brought to him. The question will be, "Did I worship the Lord with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, all my strength, or did I leave something behind, that I could have given more?"

To worship in such a way that I have nothing more to give! That there would be no other gift I could bring, because I have given everything I could give - it still falls short of what God deserves.

I leave you with these words that I love from the old Lutheran hymn - Oh, That I had a Thousand Voices:

       1. Oh that I had a thousand voices
      To praise my God with thousand tongues!
      My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
      Would then proclaim in grateful songs
      To all, wherever I might be,
      What great things God hath done for me.

      2. O all ye powers that He implanted,
      Arise, and silence keep no more;
      Put forth the strength that He hath granted,
      Your noblest work is to adore.
      O soul and body, be ye meet
      With heartfelt praise your Lord to greet!