Worship Him

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:18-24;  Exodus 32:1-6

For many, considerations of worship are ancillary to the “real issues” of life. What, after all, does it matter whom, how, where, or what one worships; or whether or not one worships at all? The real questions of life are not settled in cathedrals or chapels, but in Congress and by CEOs, they say. Fine, if you want to go to church on Sunday, but Monday through Friday is when the real decisions are made and when the world’s future course is set.

We who were created by God and for God can’t escape the implications of that so easily. And any person with the ability and willingness to see will acknowledge that truth. You might drive by a church building and a Sunday morning and find it odd that people get up and dressed up to gather with other people and sing songs and listen to God-talk when the bed is warm and soft, and Wal-Mart is open, and games are on TV. And you might consider it all a big waste of time and resources. And while you are making these assessments you will be overlooking the real-world consequences or your participation in the collective unbelief of a world in rebellion against the God who created it.

When Paul writes of God’s wrath being revealed from heaven, he means it is continuously being revealed. It is an ongoing revelation. And he doesn’t have in mind the latest natural disaster or terrible war, even though we might be wise to consider what those things tell us about the world. Paul tells us exactly what he means in his repeated use of the phrase, “God gave them up.” He means that when we stubbornly choose to reject God by refusing to be thankful, worship, or even acknowledge His existence; God eventually lets us have our way. He gives us up to what we want.

“Well, good!’ you say. Not so fast…

What happens next? More sin. Worse sins. Self and societal destruction.

Worship matters. Reread Exodus 32. While dear Moses was on the Mount with God receiving the Ten Commandments, the first ones having to do with worship and idolatry, the people were down in the valley worshiping an idol. That idolatry led to immorality of a debased and debasing nature.

That is always true.

Worship is not optional. We are worshipping creatures. We will worship something. The worship of anything or anyone other than the God of the Scriptures, the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ, we will devolve and enter into a cycle of self and societal destruction. We will find that God gives us up.

Repent, return, and worship Him.

Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash