Many people in our country see worship as a highly personal thing. They also view it as something that is optional. I’ve heard that idea expressed like this: “There are lots of different ways to worship. Who is to say that one type of worship is better than another? It’s really up to the individual to choose whether they want to worship or not.”

Last week I explained that we are all worshipers. Does it matter what we worship? Is the choice just left up to us? No. Worshiping the wrong things leads to bad places, both in this life and in the next.

What are some of those things people believe in so sincerely?

Some people exalt science as the final answer to everything. They even look to science to determine what is right and wrong. Can science be trusted? Are scientists always right? A brief look at history proves otherwise. Two-hundred years ago, medical science believed that sick people could be made well by draining out their blood. That is how our first President died. When I was a boy, scientists warned that the earth was headed for a new ice age. Now they say the danger is global warming. More recently, scientists said it was unhealthy to eat too many eggs or enjoy real butter. Now they say that eggs do not raise our cholesterol and that butter is healthier than margarine. If you want to learn more, read “20 of the Greatest Blunders of Science in the Last 20 Years.” It is an interesting article from Discover Magazine and was written by Judith Newman. You can find it online here: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/20-of-the-greatest-blunders-in-science-in-the-last-20-years.

Education, much like science, is another popular object of worship. Every few years educators come up with a brand-new theory that explains how we learn. It is supposed to be the best way to teach our children. If the educators are so smart, though, why are there over 15 different learning theories? Very few of the experts agree on which one is right. You can find an interesting article about modern education here: https://teacherofsci.com/learning-theories-in-education/

Bertrand Russell (1871-1970), a famous British philosopher and historian, won a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. One day a friend noticed that he appeared unusually unhappy. He asked, “Why so meditative?’ Russell replied: “Because I’ve made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant [wise scholar], I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I’m convinced of the opposite.”

Mr. Russell discovered a wonderful truth. It is depressing to focus on what men think instead of reflecting on the beauty of God’s creation and His Word. Look at others long enough and you’ll find faults and failures. Take an honest look at yourself, and you will see much the same.

On the other hand, if you look to the God of Creation, you will find joy and beauty because that is what He is like. The door to worshipping that God is opened when we put our trust in Him to forgive our sin and to love us completely. Our relationship with Him is fueled by our knowledge of who He is. The Bible tells us about Him and fills us with joyful convictions about the worthiness of God.

Here is an example of what worshipping the one true God looks like:

“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:1–6).

Right now, God invites you to worship Him. Don’t forget, though, that one day, when Jesus returns, all will be forced to worship Him:  “… at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11).

I’m praying that you will come to Jesus and worship Him as your Savior now. Worship Him freely while you can before someday you are forced to come before Him as your Judge.