Hattie’s Hangout: Who are we really worshipping in the Church, God or man?

We are a culture that obsesses over ourselves, viewing most happenstances through the lens of “how will this affect me?”

The dedication to our needs floods the minds and hearts of many. This is the result of a culture set on self-centric worship. You don’t have to look too far on our social media pages to see everyone’s self-made pedestals, trying to position themselves right on top. 

When this culture is mirrored in the Church, we have an issue. 

Sadly, many Christian songs are littered with self-idolized liturgy, opening the gate for the exaltation of man and the subsequent dismissal of Christ. Under the lights and the fog, empty words and emotion-stricken melodies are lifted up and masked by pretty sounds.

But self-centric worship doesn’t end with songs. 

The toxicity of self-worship is riddled within messages and sermons from pastors that negate the gospel message from the pulpit. They focus on what man can do and what man wants, not what God has done and will continue to do. 

In a congregation needing nutrients from the news of Christ, weary souls get fed stale bread dipped in cheap honey. The message seems sweet, but it will never satisfy the hole in their heart, which is void of Christ. 

When sermons examine the feelings of man rather than proclaim Christ’s name and his redemptive work on the cross, the opportunity to nourish a community of believers to hear the Word of God preached becomes useless to the Kingdom of God. Gathering together as a body of believers to hear the Word of God and worship him is beautiful and obedient. Charles Spurgeon said, “there is no worship of God that is better than hearing a sermon.” 

The heart of worship – the reason for every breath we take – gets lost and trampled on by the loud voices of self-worship. 

God is the reason we sing praises, because of his grace we are drawn in obedience to worship him. In fear and trembling, awe and wonder, as it says in Philippians 2:12, followers of Christ know it is God’s work that makes us desire what we would never desire on our own – obedient worship of the Lord.

Without God we are lost and only know how to lift up the name of ourselves, for our world starts and ends with us.

If this is the way of Christ-less sinners, why are Christians emulating this behavior?

The worship of God is not restricted to praise songs and a sermon on Sunday mornings, but should be the response every waking morning for “the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise,” according to Lamentations 3:22-23.

But if we can’t get worship right in the sanctuaries of the church where bodies gather, self-idolization has room to thrive. 

Every time we gather to hear the word of God, study the word of God or read the word of God, doing it properly according to Scripture should emote a response of worship directed to God. A. W. Tozer states that the goal of every Christian should be to “live in a state of unbroken worship.” This is what walking with God looks like. 

The Psalmist David emulated this posture of praise and worship of the Lord throughout the most trying times of his life, exalting God in worship in Psalm 113:3 “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Hebrews 10:22 shows us walking with God invokes praise and worship of his name, giving adoration and honor to the Lord. 

Self-centered worship found in churches claiming Christianity need a reality check on the one whom they think they praise.

God wants us to worship him, giving him the glory, for he is worthy of all our praise. God is looking for your heart, your soul and your mind. He is looking for your worship, but instead this gets lost when our intentions shine on ourselves and how we feel.

The purpose of worship is to put Jesus as paramount, engaging with his transcendence, in wonder of his name. R.C. Sproul says, “we can have religion that is not acceptable to God,” for a heart set on the worship of self is not pleasing to God. Worship not set on the true God is not true worship – it is idolatry of man.

Hattie Troutman is the Editor-in-Chief. Follow her on Twitter at @hattrout.