Darcy L. Watkins – July 11, 2024 (original October 2, 2013)
On occasion, I hear expressions to the effect of worshiping worship instead of worshiping God. My initial response was something like, “Say What?” This expression is double edged, so some caution is warranted.
What do we mean when we say, “Worshiping worship”?
Of itself, the expression is stupid. “Oh worship! I worship and adore you oh worship!” See it is totally lame!
On the other hand, the expression is birthed out of a concern. Most church speak is. The concern is that we could get overly caught up in the forms and practices of applying musical arts in the church that the process can have preeminence over the person whom it was all supposed to be for in the first place. So long as we understand that the process, the forms, the practices and procedures of themselves are not worship, but are vehicles used for us to worship God then we are ok.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus rebuked contemporary religious leaders since they placed emphasis and value on the traditions of men such that had preeminence over what God wanted (and perhaps even God Himself). He didn’t rebuke them for having traditions, but for misplacing preeminence.
Singing songs during a church service is a form or a convention used as we worship God. There are a variety of styles just like there are variety of styles of music. Preaching sermons is a practice used as we worship God. Coming to church on a designated day of the week is a convention most of us follow. In fact, even gathering together is a specially designated building is a form used. These are all traditions of ours. They of themselves are not worship. However, we appreciate how these things facilitate our worship of God.
When we discuss the very issues of God in the scripture and on occasion get heated but then arrive at an understanding of scripture, this is ok since we are dealing with a matter of truth. Even if disagreement is present and we part our ways, it is still acceptable since we follow our convictions and our conscience on vital matters. This in part is why there are denominations and various church organizations which target different objectives and emphasize different issues. It even happened between the Apostle Paul and Barnabas.
On the other hand, when we get into the same type of heated debates over traditions and hold dear to an item even to the point of holding it closer than the issues of God, yikes! we are in danger. Worse than that, in our attempt to hold dear to a tradition or a form, we may equate it to an issue of God so that we appear to defend an issue of God when in fact we are defending a tradition. This is where church speak can be of detriment. For example, someone may feel they are defending “worshiping God” when in fact they are defending a form of worship.
I think it is commonly understood that when we say “worship”, we are often focusing in on certain aspects of our worship experience, some of the forms and traditions we use. We don’t claim to have final authority. We all desire to seek Him and worship Him.
In our respective settings, we each have a vision and a mission from God which is tailored for our setting. If we as a church group are reaching to a younger generation, then the preferences of that generation come into consideration in our forms and traditions, but the truth of God’s word will always be the same.
When someone says be careful that you don’t “worship worship”, it is ok to check our hearts to ensure that our understanding is balanced. On the other hand, the act of saying that expression could be used to throw you off guard since the person saying it may feel that a tradition that they hold dear is being threatened by change. In other words, the supposedly well intended check could be a disguised attack. That strategy is common today. We refer to it as “trolling”.
Some preachers may speak of “worshiping worship” because they may perceive less emphasis on preaching. Someone holding dear to older songs in a church whose population is younger could say it to undermine the church’s worship expression. The same could hold true for a frustrated young person struggling, attempting to change a church from an older style of worship expression to something more contemporary. He could say that resistance to change is worshiping a form of worship when in fact it could just be that the current practices are well suited for and well accepted by that church population. He then is the one caught up with a misplaced preference in this case.
Like all cases where proper balance is needed, we must not only keep our eyes on the Lord but also be vigilant regarding what others may say to and about us. Wisdom is needed.