Though we may have dealt with condemnation and guilt, the pitfalls and hindrances to worship remain many. The fore- most deterrent to worship is in wrongly formulated attitudes of the mind and heart.
No doubt a major problem that debilitates our worship is pride. Pride is probably the greatest hindrance to worship. Pride has ruined far more worship services than all the forces of hell combined. It is pride that gravitates toward conserva- tive, low-key worship, because the ego is never fed by all-out worship. It is pride that restrains us from lifting our voices without fear in the congregation. Pride will rob us of the joy and release that come when we dance or lift our hands or bow in the presence of the Lord. Pride will incarcerate us in a self- conscious prison of spiritual bondage. Pride comes up with excuses such as “Well, that’s just not my style of praise.” And pride never takes the blame or acknowledges the fault. It is one of the most insidious hindrances to worship because it is so difficult to discern. The flesh will never proffer the solution by saying, “The problem is pride, old buddy!”
The very essence of worship is self-abasement and humility. Worship is the humbling of self and the exalting of God. We have developed the remarkable ability, however, to worship the Lord without sacrificing our own sophistication. How is it that we are able to say, “I exalt the Lord!” without once humbling ourselves? There was a time in the last century when it took a lot of humility to raise one’s hands or clap or dance. But these expressions of praise are now accepted as common fare in most pentecostal and charismatic circles. It is possible for contemporary believers to lift their hands and sing in tongues
without sacrificing personal pride, simply because that has become socially acceptable behavior in many circles. But are we prepared to express our worship in a different manner if we sense the impulse of the Spirit, regardless of what others might think?
Pride is highly susceptible to peer pressure in worship. We tend to be more concerned about the opinions of others than we are about the Lord’s opinion, at precisely the time when the Lord should fill all our thoughts. Pride is sin. Let us be willing to cast aside our charismatic sophistication and worship the Lord with all our hearts, giving no heed to self and the maintenance of a “spiritual” image. Some of the best advice I’ve heard is this: “Never do anything because others are looking at you, and never refrain from anything because others are looking at you.”
Our worship often suffers from a sort of “reverse hedo- nism.” Hedonism is the modern philosophy of life that says, “If it feels good, do it.” “It’s your thing, do what you want to do.” We live in a hedonistic society, for everywhere around us people are seeking to satisfy the cravings of their sensual desires. Conversely, if it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it. Carried over into worship, this reversed attitude says, “If you don’t feel like worshiping, don’t worry about it. God understands your weakness—he won’t zap you!” “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” But we must participate in worship, especially during those times when we do not feel like it. If we allow our worship to be controlled by our feelings, we will never gain victory in our Christian walk. We do not worship because we feel like it—we worship because Christ is worthy!
A third faulty attitude in worship is that of presumption. We saunter into the worship service and say, “Hi there, God— good to see you again this week.” And God says, “The voice is familiar, but I don’t recognize the face.” We assume our right to approach him even after living selfishly all week long. How often we presume upon God’s grace and expect his Spirit of
blessing to be showered upon us without any sacrifice, invest- ment of prayer, or humble repentance on our part.
A fourth malady in worship is “spectatorism.” How easy it is for us to get caught up in watching the proceedings of a worship service and afterward find that we have done every- thing but worship! Paul made no mention of the ministry of surveillance in his epistles. We are called not to peruse but to participate.
Corporate worship too often resembles a spectator sport. Graham Truscott has compared worship with football. He describes American football as fifty million people needing exercise, watching twenty-two people needing rest. Some churches cater to a spectator-sport mentality in their worship services: so much transpires on the platform that the worshiper is required to contribute relatively little in order for the service to succeed. Perhaps this is why many have rethought their approach to what has been termed “special music.” “Special music” in many circles has come to mean the performance of a musical piece that (under the guise of “ministry”) does little more than titillate the ears of the “audience.”
Worship is not performed by one party in behalf of another. No one can worship for another. We have all been called, as a spiritual priesthood, to offer up sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord (see Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:5-6; Revelation 1:6). A performer/audience orienta- tion is completely foreign to the New Testament. None of us is a spectator, but we are all participants in raising high his glorious praise. True worship must eventually transcend the horizontal and become centered on the vertical dynamics of communion with God.
Sentimentalism can also stymie worship. We often become sentimental in worship when we become more taken up with the music than with the message of our songs. Overly familiar songs are in danger of becoming sentimental for us. These are songs that are so well known and common that they lose their effectiveness in stimulating our minds to worship.
Worship leaders must understand the strong emotional pull of music and the easy way we can become sentimental over a favorite tune. We must not be satisfied with an emotional response alone; we need a complete response of body, soul, and spirit.
When Israel rejected the word of the Lord through his ser- vant Ezekiel, the Lord said the following about Israel: “‘Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice’” (Ezekiel 33:32). God knows full well how easily we get caught up in the beauty of a nice melody without the message changing us in the least. We should occasionally ask ourselves while praising if we are guilty of “jiving” to the music without giving any heed to the message of the song.
We have been created as humans to enjoy music. God has placed that sensitivity in us, and it is good. But God has intended that music help us to open our hearts and become more receptive to him. We are never to worship music or place inordinate emphasis upon it. Music is a vehicle, not an end in itself. St. Augustine observed, “When I am moved by the voice of him that sings more than by the words sung, I confess to have sinned.”
A sixth wrong attitude in worship is the paying of mere lip service. How easy it can be to mouth the words of a song, all the while knowing our heart is not a part of the message. Noth- ing is more repugnant to the Lord than halfheartedness and hypocrisy. At one point in Israel’s history, the Hebrews were sacrificing to the heathen gods and then were turning around and fulfilling the Mosaic sacrifices to God. Notice what God said to them through the prophet Amos: “‘I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not ac- cept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps’” (Amos 5:21-23).
God would prefer that we keep our mouths shut rather than worship him ostensibly.
Another dangerous attitude is the fear of manipulation. We might think, “I’m not going to let this worship leader ‘hype’ me! He can try cheerleading if he wants to, but just see if he can get me to respond!” Whether or not the approach of the worship leader is proper is irrelevant; the problem is my refusal to enter into worship simply because I allow myself the luxury of being irritated with a worship leader’s style. God is worthy of my praise regardless of any human foibles manifested by the leadership.
A final attitude we must change is wrapped up in the seven last words of a dying church: “We’ve never done it this way be- fore.” That is all the more reason to do it! Our worship is likely to improve if we will stir ourselves to be innovative, be willing to try new things, and be ready to experiment and explore all that God has for us in worship.
Becoming a worshiper is a privilege and a challenge. It is the one thing that delights the Father’s heart above all else. Once people are prepared to enter into worship without reser- vation, however, the church leadership must come to a proper understanding of the role of worship in the congregation. Our services will be effective when our worship is conducted with a definite purpose.
CHAPTER 6