What is Worship?

"Worship..."

It's a buzz word in our Christian culture.  We are bombarded with terms such as "contemporary worship", "traditional worship", "worship wars", "worship music", and this list goes on.  But despite the popularity of these catch-phrases, I fear we are still often at a loss as to what the true nature of worship is.

We go to church and sing, pass the offering plate, endure 20-30 minutes of preaching, talk to our friends and go home unchanged and unaffected.  We do all these things because that is what church is supposed to be.  Why?  Because that's how we've always done it.

The rest of the week is no different.  We crack open our Bibles for 10-15 minutes before eating breakfast and forget it all as soon as we get into the car and turn on the radio.  At work, everyone knows we are a Christian, but we never have the courage to talk to them about Christ.  We don't want to offend anyone or lose our reputation with our coworkers.  We get home, turn on the TV, and turn off our minds.

Isn't there more to being a Christian?  What distinguishes us from those that are perishing without Christ other than our "ticket to heaven" Christianity?

Here's the clincher... what sets us apart from the world has to be Who we worship.  Humans are worshiping beings.  From the moment we were born we were worshiping something or someone--most often, ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-3).  When we were born again by the Spirit of God, the object of our worship changed.
  
¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:1,2 HCSB

Paul described to the Corinthians what their response to God's mercy shown in salvation was to look like.  The Christian's spiritual act of worship is to affect every aspect of life: thinking, talking, loving, desiring, doing.  A true Christian must be characterized by worship of God.

So what is worship? Worship is a lifestyle, not a music style.

Here's a working definition...  Worship (of God) is the Christian's response to Who God is (His divine attributes) and what He has done (His divine works) that ascribes ultimate worth to God, delights in Him alone, and involves every aspect of his/her life.