what is worship?

(more from my testimony attempts)

what is worship? is it singing? prayer? service? tithing?

we'd like to think so. we like to compartmentalize God. we like rules. i know, it doesn't look like it. it's true, we don't like obeying rules. but we like enumerating them. we love limits, structure. so, if we could, we would codify a clear list of activities which constitute worship. a checklist.

but God doesn't work that way, does He? He told the israelites how to atone for their sins, but He said, "to obey is better than sacrifice." He said we ought to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Him. is that a checklist? well, not a practical one:

TO DO:
1) deny myself
2) pick up my cross
3) follow Jesus

no, it doesn't work that way.

in a study we did on forms of worship, my bible study group divided into pairs and each group provided a definition and a "purpose" for each medium. we studied tithing, service, communion, prayer, and so on. at the end of each monday night we were forced to come to the same conclusion: whatever the form of worship was we had been discussing, it was a way of life.

we hit upon an undeniable truth: worship is a way of life, an attitude of the heart. romans 12:1 tells us as much: "present your bodies as living sacrifices, for this is your spiritual act of worship." but i thought worship was music-related! i thought it meant good music with the right lighting and - please! - no songs that are more than five years old! you might think that that's what worship is. but God disagrees. and that's never a good sign.