Why Does God Ask Us to Worship Him?

Imagine eternity. Life unending. What would it be like? How would it not become unbearably boring?

Now imagine yourself enjoying an event to the point of near hysteria. It could be a rock concert, the Superbowl, or a honeymoon. Did you think about how much you enjoyed it as you experienced it? Did you want to relive it? Did you want to tell others to experience it? How would those who were not interested in the event experience it? Would they want to relive it? Would they want to tell others they should experience it?

I am thinking about my parents, who grew up in the 1930s and 40s. If you had taken them to a rock concert circa 1965, they would have hated it. Nothing about the experience would have been enjoyable.

So, how could we expect to enjoy eternity if we did not believe in God? Every day would be torture. This is the very reason worship is so important to God. If we can't worship Him in this life, how will we enjoy worshipping Him for eternity? Of course, this depends on why God asks us to worship Him in this life. We should try to understand what worship really is.

Merriam-Webster defines worship as 'to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power.' How can we best honor God? By living this life as He created it, Luke 6:46, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" 

Matthew 15:9, "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." rather than the commandments of God. What did God tell us about His commandments? Matthew 22:36-38, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." If we have been so blinded that we cannot see that God is awesome and someone we should want to be around, someone drawing us with His love and the things He has created, we will miss the eternity He has created, Revelation 4:8-11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Like my parents and a 1965 rock concert, they loved Sinatra, not the Stones or the Beatles; those who refuse to see God for who He is will never be happy in church or eternity.

C.S. Lewis once said, "I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise. The world rings with praise--lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising favorite game--praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rate stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians and scholars." We were born to praise. The mistake is that we don't realize the one who deserves the most praise is our Creator God.

Worship includes praise, service to others, kind words, loving gestures, food brought to the sick, visits to a prisoner, help given to a widow in need, prayer, worship songs, leadership in a community of followers, or being a worker in a community of followers. Worship is living a life centered on God's love. Until we abide in His love, we will never be able to enjoy it. We will always think doing God's work is boring and beneath us. Those who come to understand who God is and how much He loves us will thrive in His fellowship. This is why we were created, to be the church, the bride, and the family that loves everyone, James 1:27, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." and Ephesians 5:19-20, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;" and Acts 20:35, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Worshipping anything other than God means we are not maximizing our joy of worshipping Him. It is why He said in Revelation 3:16, "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Not because He needs our worship but because He knows anything less than our full love for Him reduces our joy. John 15:8-11, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Worship is the natural conclusion to the experiences of joy. And it completes our joy because it is the final part of the glory of God's creation, Luke 4:8, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." and 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

When we realize what God has created, we are in awe. When we participate in worshipping Him, we acknowledge the awe He inspires. It is the completion of the joy of living in His glory and loving Him as He loves us. It is a product of His love for us in the pursuit of the fullness of our joy. It becomes an endless cycle of ever-increasing joy. This is why eternity will not be boring. It is like a music composition with an ever-increasing, never-ending crescendo. Things just keep getting better.

In this life, we get bored with our successes because, at some point, we reach a crescendo. We will never get a higher high. We will never feel the same joy we did the first time we reached those heights. This explains why Michael Jordan left basketball at the height of his career to pursue baseball. How many trophies must we win before they are no longer important?

So, our loving Creator God knows He is the only thing that can bring us an ever-increasing, never-ending joy. This is why He tells us to love Him with all of our hearts, minds, and strength.  Anything less would break the cycle of endless joy He has created for us to experience. He does this because He loves us unconditionally and only wants us to join Him in the fullness of His joy. How could we ever enjoy eternity without the ever-increasing joy of living the glory that is God's work playing out the way He created it to?

We worship God when we do our part in His created reality.

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