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We would be completely off the mark if we thought, as some do, that God is trying to feel good about Himself by getting people to worship Him! That would be to think of Him as if He were like us with our selfish, sinful nature! But He is God, and not man, perfectly holy and without even a trace of selfishness in Him (1Jn.1:5). He is also 'love' that inherently wants to give and bless rather than to seek things for Himself (1Jn.4:16). From these we must understand that whatever He asks from us is essentially for our good, for blessing us, and not for getting anything from us for His benefit. He is perfect in Himself and is not looking for anything to add to His fulfilment or satisfaction! So what is God trying to do when He asks us to worship Him?

When we worship God, it is essentially expressing our admiration for who He is. As we discover the greatness of God in different dimensions, for example, when we see the majesty of His almighty power, the completeness of His knowledge, the perfection of His wisdom, the richness of His grace towards us sinners, etc., we cannot but fall down and worship Him. When we worship God, it brings us to the right position in our relationship with Him. We see ourselves as being small, insignificant, unworthy in our relationship with Him, and also as those who have received forgiveness, acceptance and adoption as His children, made worthy by His grace for fellowship with Him through eternity. Isn't this a good place for us to be in? It is also the right place for us from where we too can grow into His nature more and more.

Think of how this would protect us from thinking too much of ourselves, as if we were great, independent or sufficient in ourselves to run our lives! That is a great danger from which God wants to save us. Think of people, even Christians, who have followed the example of Lucifer, the chief angel, who think almost as if they were gods themselves who can speak and make things happen! When Christians do this, they don't realise that instead of becoming more dependent on God for everything in life, they are imagining that they are their own masters.

How sad it is to see that for many Christians, worship is a programme of singing and music that gives them an emotional high! Some are even deceived into thinking that this emotional thrill is an indication of a spiritual connection with God. Some of them are then shocked to find out that similar experiences are also available from worldly sources that even atheists can enjoy!

The only way back to God for fallen, sinful people is through repentance from sin and turning to God through the atonement made possible by Jesus' death in our place. After we receive a new spiritual birth from God, worshipping God is one means by which our relationship with God gets strengthened. To reduce this to a show put up to entertain people, where unconverted musicians stir up people's emotions, is really a movement away from God!

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