What is worship? “To pour out adoration towards another”; “A feeling of profound love and admiration.” To worship God is to recognize His worth or worthiness and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see. The Bible often calls this activity’ “glorifying God” or “giving glory to God”, and views it as the ultimate end, not a means to an end. The Bible also teaches that it’s the whole duty of man (Ps 29:2; 96:6-9).
True Biblical worship should so satisfy us that we don’t have to shop around for manmade substitutes. William Temple made this clear in his definition of worship “For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose—and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”
I’ve heard so many times from Christians who neglect the assembly “But I live right”. As if to say “Why do I have to come to worship if I’m living right?” As Christians we live a life of sacrifice and service. However; we must never think or even imagine that our lives lived for Him or our labor in the world is a substitute for our worship to Him and direct fellowship with Him. God is looking for “true worshipers…..for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (Jim 4:23-24). As important as it is to worship God in the right way, it’s just as important to understand what worship is and to be an active participant. The question that we all must ask ourselves is “Have I worshiped today or did I attend worship today”. There is a difference.