Worship is such an important and CRUCIAL part of a Christian's walk with the Lord. You cannot live for God, follow His commands, be who He's called you to be and ignore this very basic part of your relationship with Him. This is the part where you recognize exactly Who He Is. Without this acknowledgement, we are left to our own way of thinking, our own way of doing, our own way of living, our own way of witnessing...and ultimately, we are left to our own demise.
Worship is so much more than the songs that we sing...it is the very WAY we LIVE. Worship isn't about doing...it's about being. Constantly aware of our Creator. Constantly walking in His grace to be righteous. Constantly CHOOSING to be obedient to Him because we are fully aware of Who He Is.
I'm afraid that we as a whole, have lost sight of the depth of the meaning of the word "worship". I'm afraid that we have strayed away from the very lifeline of worship. We have turned worship into something that revolves more around what we are getting out of it than what God is receiving from us. I mean when was the last time you sat (or stood) before God in worship and focused the entire time not on what He can do for you but rather just on who He is?
I am a worship leader and that is a task I do not take lightly. Helping people step into the presence of God and making sure that everything that is done is completely pointing to Jesus, is not always easy. BUT... I have noticed such a shift in our worship services... some "worship" songs that are ever so popular in most churches... lack so much and yet we sing them because they're fun. Same with lots of hymns... lack so much and yet we sing them because we like them. Both of these elements have the same reasoning...they make us feel good. Now don't get me wrong, there are LOTS of great worship songs and hymns out there that take us straight to the heart of God. But does that make the ones that we spend time focusing on during worship...that don't....okay?
When worship is really supposed to be (based on what I read in Scripture)...all about us praising God for who He is....then why do we spend so much time on songs that reflect more on the things we are going through and less on how amazing and how in awe we are of Him? Now I don't think that there is anything wrong with songs of reflection... It's good to recognize our need for God and ask Him to help us through difficult times...BUT are we maybe getting away from what we NEED to be focusing on in our acts of worship? Does it really hurt us when we spend so little time making Him increase and us decrease? Could there be a reason why we should be focusing more on the God that we serve instead of the many ways He serves us?
Again, I'm not knocking the songs we sing that bring about reflection but what I am saying is that I really think we are confusing the issue of the real meaning of worship. And we are undoubtedly confusing the meaning to others around us.
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