Week 31
Misunderstanding
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
John 4:24
One of the biggest misunderstandings creating a threat to the unity of the church has to do with the style of worship. What is worship? Worship is more than singing. John Piper defines, “True worship is a valuing and treasuring of God above all things.” Worship is not just coming to church on Sunday. It is a lifestyle, where we live out our obedience to God in our daily life. But, Christians often get stuck in disagreeing which style of service is the right one. Those who prefer quiet service criticize those who are more animated in their style of worship. And those who prefer lively worship style judge quiet worshippers as worshiping traditionally without a heart. Well, Psalm 150:4 says, “Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.” We also read in Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” Miriam led the first service of worship as free people with the song and dance. Hanna prayed silently before God in the temple. Just because you prefer a different style of service, you cannot say other styles are unbiblical. The fact of the matter is that God looks at our hearts and we must worship Him in Spirit and truth.
Dear God, teach us to not cause division because we misunderstand that only the worship style we prefer is right. We pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.