
WHY DO WE NEED TO
WORSHIP?
By R. Herbert
“Let's face it; God has a big ego problem. Why do we always have to worship him?” – Bill Maher
For many atheists and agnostics, the idea of a God who encourages or demands praise and worship (Exodus 8:1, etc.) seems to suggest a being who is selfishly motivated and self-centered. It is presumed that the divine desire for worship is the equivalent of the needs of humans whose egos cannot get enough attention and reinforcement.
But the failure to understand God’s requirement for worship is based on the fallacy that God acts in human ways, for human reasons. While a person who constantly seeks praise is self-centered at the least, that is not the character or personality of God. When we look beneath the surface of what might “appear” to be, we find that God seeks our praise not primarily for His sake, but for ours.
Verbalizing what we love
In his writings, C.S. Lewis frequently made the point that God initiated the cycle of praise and worship because humans need to praise things they love in order to fully appreciate and enjoy them. Have you ever walked along a beautiful beach or watched an amazing sunset and wished there was someone there you could talk with about the experience? As Lewis pointed out, wine lovers don’t just drink fine wines, they talk about them – describe them and extoll them. People in love don’t just stare at each other, they verbalize how they feel about each other with praise. Lewis touched on an important truth in writing that our happiness regarding what we like or love is made complete in praising it. This correlation between praise and happiness is clear in many of the Psalms, for example: “My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him” (Psalm 28:7), and elsewhere in the Bible – including in the life of Jesus himself: “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” It is only natural to praise what brings us happiness and what we love!
Praise shows us our need
Many of us grow up learning the value of self-reliance, and that is not a bad thing if it is maintained in right balance. But there are things in life for which we cannot be self-reliant. The Christian faith, by its very nature, demands that we come to see our need of God and His forgiveness and righteousness. Those are things that the Bible shows we cannot manufacture ourselves, and it is in ongoing worship of God that we are continually reminded of our need of Him. Madeleine L'Engle once wrote “One cannot be humble and aware of oneself at the same time.” It is in getting our focus away from ourselves and on to God in praise and worship that we find that broader perspective. As King David wrote: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalms 8:3-4). It is through praise-filled worship that we gain the perspective we need.
Worship aids obedience
Another aspect of worship is that it helps us dedicate ourselves to the purposes of God. It is in worshiping the nature and character of God that we are reminded of the qualities we are called to emulate, as much as is possible, in our own lives (Psalm 119:15). There is an important aspect of this fact we should always remember. Despite what many atheists may think, the question we all end up answering in life is not “Will I worship?” but “What will I worship?” Everybody elevates something to some degree and it is just a matter of what, or whom, we elevate in our lives. Those who do not worship God eventually worship things of their own choosing, and history has shown that this inevitably leads to humans badly hurting themselves, and others, in the process. That is why the writer of the book of Chronicles states: “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be revered above all gods” (1 Chronicles 16:25). When we realize the truth of this, we see that worship and praise of God protect us from worship that might eventually harm or even destroy us.
Praise as thankfulness
When someone helps us or does something for us, we often don’t just use the expression “thank you.” We feel we want to go beyond that and we say something like “I owe you!” or “That’s very kind of you!” – acknowledging the help and even directly praising the person who helped us. That is the natural reaction of sincere appreciation. Not surprisingly, then, we find that individuals throughout the Bible who recognized what God had done for them offered praise as part of their thanksgiving. Look at these two examples from the many we find in Scripture: “Praise be to the Lord … who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised” (1 Kings 8:15). “Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:13). Praise is a natural part of grateful thanksgiving, and the more thankful we feel the more natural it is to praise.
In all these ways, and more, true worship has nothing to do with the imaginary negative “worship” envisaged by atheists and others. Those who hold a meaningful relationship with God may have begun to worship Him in some cases because they saw God’s instruction to do so, but they invariably continued because they wanted to do so. Whether they “had to” or not, they realized what worship added to their lives. What critics of religion do not understand is that it is not God who needs our worship and praise, but we who need to worship and praise Him.
WORSHIP?
By R. Herbert
“Let's face it; God has a big ego problem. Why do we always have to worship him?” – Bill Maher
For many atheists and agnostics, the idea of a God who encourages or demands praise and worship (Exodus 8:1, etc.) seems to suggest a being who is selfishly motivated and self-centered. It is presumed that the divine desire for worship is the equivalent of the needs of humans whose egos cannot get enough attention and reinforcement.
But the failure to understand God’s requirement for worship is based on the fallacy that God acts in human ways, for human reasons. While a person who constantly seeks praise is self-centered at the least, that is not the character or personality of God. When we look beneath the surface of what might “appear” to be, we find that God seeks our praise not primarily for His sake, but for ours.
Verbalizing what we love
In his writings, C.S. Lewis frequently made the point that God initiated the cycle of praise and worship because humans need to praise things they love in order to fully appreciate and enjoy them. Have you ever walked along a beautiful beach or watched an amazing sunset and wished there was someone there you could talk with about the experience? As Lewis pointed out, wine lovers don’t just drink fine wines, they talk about them – describe them and extoll them. People in love don’t just stare at each other, they verbalize how they feel about each other with praise. Lewis touched on an important truth in writing that our happiness regarding what we like or love is made complete in praising it. This correlation between praise and happiness is clear in many of the Psalms, for example: “My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him” (Psalm 28:7), and elsewhere in the Bible – including in the life of Jesus himself: “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” It is only natural to praise what brings us happiness and what we love!
Praise shows us our need
Many of us grow up learning the value of self-reliance, and that is not a bad thing if it is maintained in right balance. But there are things in life for which we cannot be self-reliant. The Christian faith, by its very nature, demands that we come to see our need of God and His forgiveness and righteousness. Those are things that the Bible shows we cannot manufacture ourselves, and it is in ongoing worship of God that we are continually reminded of our need of Him. Madeleine L'Engle once wrote “One cannot be humble and aware of oneself at the same time.” It is in getting our focus away from ourselves and on to God in praise and worship that we find that broader perspective. As King David wrote: “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalms 8:3-4). It is through praise-filled worship that we gain the perspective we need.
Worship aids obedience
Another aspect of worship is that it helps us dedicate ourselves to the purposes of God. It is in worshiping the nature and character of God that we are reminded of the qualities we are called to emulate, as much as is possible, in our own lives (Psalm 119:15). There is an important aspect of this fact we should always remember. Despite what many atheists may think, the question we all end up answering in life is not “Will I worship?” but “What will I worship?” Everybody elevates something to some degree and it is just a matter of what, or whom, we elevate in our lives. Those who do not worship God eventually worship things of their own choosing, and history has shown that this inevitably leads to humans badly hurting themselves, and others, in the process. That is why the writer of the book of Chronicles states: “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be revered above all gods” (1 Chronicles 16:25). When we realize the truth of this, we see that worship and praise of God protect us from worship that might eventually harm or even destroy us.
Praise as thankfulness
When someone helps us or does something for us, we often don’t just use the expression “thank you.” We feel we want to go beyond that and we say something like “I owe you!” or “That’s very kind of you!” – acknowledging the help and even directly praising the person who helped us. That is the natural reaction of sincere appreciation. Not surprisingly, then, we find that individuals throughout the Bible who recognized what God had done for them offered praise as part of their thanksgiving. Look at these two examples from the many we find in Scripture: “Praise be to the Lord … who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised” (1 Kings 8:15). “Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:13). Praise is a natural part of grateful thanksgiving, and the more thankful we feel the more natural it is to praise.
In all these ways, and more, true worship has nothing to do with the imaginary negative “worship” envisaged by atheists and others. Those who hold a meaningful relationship with God may have begun to worship Him in some cases because they saw God’s instruction to do so, but they invariably continued because they wanted to do so. Whether they “had to” or not, they realized what worship added to their lives. What critics of religion do not understand is that it is not God who needs our worship and praise, but we who need to worship and praise Him.