Convenient Worship

 May 1, 2021

“That I may come and worship him also.” The Magi had travelled for months across desert, from oasis to oasis till they finally arrived in Jerusalem asking where the Christ was to be born, so they could worship him. Herod pretended to have the same desire, but couldn’t be bothered to join them in the search, instead urging them to go and let him know when they found the Child. His piety was a pretense; he preferred to stay in the comfort of his palace, letting others do the work of searching. Worship which refuses to expend effort is no worship at all, but is merely a pretext concealing a self-centered and narcissistic heart.

Genuine worship implies that the object of reverence is greater than the one who gives it. Herod would bow to no one, maniacally insisting instead that all bow before him. Such worship refuses to yield its rights, insisting instead that the object of worship yield to convenience. A thousand years earlier, David said, “I will not give to the LORD that which has cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Convenient worship is in reality a worship of self, not God. Worship is not the same as self-actualization, a means of feeling better, but is a surrender to One greater than myself.

Ultimately such non-worship is deceitful and destructive. It is a lie designed to trick others into doing my will, to make genuine worshippers believe we are of the same mind and heart, when in fact, it will stop at nothing to retain its own power and control. The real worshippers in this story were wise men, indeed, to avoid further contact with this imposter.

Worship must not be deliberately and unnecessarily inconvenient, but neither should it bow to the whim of the soul so narcissistic as to insist that others do the heavy lifting. Tomorrow is Sunday; may we gather not to merely receive God’s blessing, but even more, to give the sacrificial praise and worship the Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ deserves.