“Those who honour me I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30).
HONOUR GOD
We honour God in every way we can, and there are so many ways to honour Him. Some churches use kneeling, it is humbling to lower our body into a kneeling position. If you don’t think so try it next time you are in a formal church setting. In the upwardly mobile western world there is a feeling that we must be up-standing. Some feel it is demeaning for someone to be on his or her knees like they are scrubbing the floor.
But it is good for us to act out the scenario of who God is and who we are; it is He who made us and not we ourselves. It helps us to remember that we are in submission to Him and not He to us. We do not have to kneel, of course, but any opportunity to show God how we feel towards Him is a good one—and anyway, scrubbing the floor is a good thing.
He has asked us to love Him with all of our hearts, soul, and strength (Deut 6:5) and that is an amazing commandment; not “obey me” or “fear me,” although we do those things, but “love me.”
Our heart is engaged in worship, not just our head. Using our body has a way of engaging the heart. Some churches encourage people to raise their hands; it is hard to raise your hands without your heart being engaged. You feel like too much of a fraudster to do it effectively. Raising your hands means engaging your heart. We can sing and be disinterested, listen to a sermon and be distracted, but raising your hands and being disinterested is a lot harder to do. In addition to kneeling and raising hands there are many ways of expressing praise, but whatever way we do it, the Scriptures tell us to do it with all of our heart. That is what counts and it has a way of engaging others to do the same because creative praise encourages empathy, allowing others to see that they too could praise God.
The Church has a long history of music; when we meet, we sing. Though I suppose not all individuals who attend a service will necessarily feel like singing. Maybe sadness, grief, or depression has entered their lives. Though the majority would feel like singing, a few would not. If we are candid, there are times when many of us do not feel like singing the announced hymn and a groan rumbles from deep within us. However, not wishing to seem out of sorts, we begin to go through the motions and mumble the hymn. We may wonder if we’re being hypocritical singing a hymn when we don’t feel like it. Yet, as we heave our tired frame into an upright position, the mould is being cast. As we listen to the singing of the congregation, the die comes together. As we contemplate the words of the hymn, the ladle begins to pour and the molten liquid hardens as we find ourselves singing praises to the Lord from our hearts. The die breaks open to reveal a person worshipping God in spirit and in truth. Previously, what had been the shell of a human being going through the motions becomes a vital person filled with God’s Spirit offering true praise. At the beginning of a church service we may well be the imitation of a person praising God, as all moulds are only the inverted shapes of an object and not the object itself. If we apply ourselves even though we don’t feel like it, any act of praise—praying, singing a hymn, kneeling, raising our hands, waving flags, or dancing—or participation in the corporate act of worship can lead us into a genuine expression of praise that delights God’s heart with its sincerity. The important thing is that we make the attempt. Making the attempt is worship itself because it reveals that our heart is willing despite all obstacles in our way.
If God has placed something on our hearts, whatever it may be—a song, sermon, poem, dance, drama, creative act of worship, prayer, or spontaneous praise—we ought to do it as if we mean it, as if God is worth it, because He is. We should resist any fear of man. Why shouldn’t God be praised? He should be, and it’s important that He is praised. There is something intrinsically linked to life as we live it that demands good stories to be heard, praising God is telling people an excellent story. The universe declares it, the skies proclaim it, and there is no language where their voice is not heard (Ps 19:1–2). Human beings are a part of that same universe; we were taken from its dust and it is our duty to praise Him. The fear of man is an insidious snare, inhibiting us (Prov 29:25).
And let’s remember that if we don’t praise God, even the very stones will cry out (Luke 19:40).