Worship - Summing it all Up

     I tend to view worship as a Sunday morning thing often.  Or when outside of the church setting, I consider it to be worship whenever I pick up my guitar either alone or with someone else and just start playing "worship songs."  But while those ARE worship...worship isn't limited to those two things.  It's not even limited to a religious sense, or a church sense.  You can worship anything in your life; sometimes without even realizing it.

    Sometimes, we fall prey to either unintentionally or intentionally worshiping things other than our Creator.  Many worship money, some their favorite football team, or it could even be someone in your life.  I know in my life at points I have worshiped soccer.  Going into my freshman year of high school, soccer was all I cared about and when I didn't make the team, I was devastated.  So how would my life have turned out if I worshiped God only and not soccer?  I don't know, it would've been a lot easier to see my worth.

    When we begin to worship other things, we can't worship God.  How can our heart be divided?  We can't serve two masters.  True worship is when we value God above all else; when we put him first in everything we do.    We can do amazing things in God's name, but it's not of any credit to us if we don't put him first is it?  If our motives for bringing someone to Christ is to boast about it?  Are we worshiping God in that? NO!  We are worshiping what we consider to be our own importance. Jesus describes people who do this in this way:

"These people honor me with their lips, 

but their hearts are far from me" (Matthew 15:8)

     One thing to keep in mind is that everyone has their own style of worship and it is up to the individual to find their way in which they come closest to God.    Everyone comes closer to God in their own unique way.  Some believe that only hymns are worship while others believe that hymns are void of meaning to them because they are boring to listen too.  Some people think that dancing is not right in worship, and some people honor God through their dancing and feel it is their best way to worship God.  Some think that sitting in nature in silence is their act of worship.  Are any of these wrong? No. Is there any one way that's the best? Who am I to decide?

     I think my best way of coming to worship is through song, and I think it's easiest to worship God with others.  I feel God's presence more when I sing with others who are worshiping...or rather I come and meet with God more when I'm in a group.  That doesn't have to be you...it's even possible that in seeing others singing out their hearts to God, you can worship God just by feeling his presence.