A Self Worshipper

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A Self Worshipper

By David Block

I used to be a self worshipper. When I came to church it was to get something out of it. I would put myself in like a coin in the church machine and hope that I would hit the jackpot. But every week I would come up short. One week I wouldn't like the song selection or someone played or sang a wrong note. The next week I'd find that I got nothing out of the sermon. The following week I'd wonder if anyone cared about me because no one said hi. The same ideas or at least their sentiments are being broadcasted by church attendees all across America. The sad thing is that I used to be a self worshipper and many others still are. Week after week they come to church leaving unaffected.

We must remember that the Christian life is all about growth. If you've been a Christian for 20+ years and you still haven't grasped the idea that worship is for God alone, to God alone, through God alone then there is something wrong. If you are leaving a church or are upset just because you don't like the style of music or the liturgy, and yet everything in the service is biblical, then this should be a big red warning light for you. The fact remains that worship is all about God. When we begin a sentence about worship with "I didn't like" or "I didn't get" or "I wasn't", then we've placed ourselves up on a golden pedestal and called ourselves god. We have become the focus of our worship, not God. We are idol worshippers.

In case you don't remember how God feels about idolatry, let me refresh your memory. Exodus 20:3 says, "You shall have no other gods before me." The meaning of this verse is self explanatory. I think it is safe to say when we place our own desires above what is commanded in Scripture we've made ourselves into our own gods. So God says don't do it. And what if we do make idols, what then? Leviticus 26:30 is a nice little picture of what God will do. "And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you." When you are thinking about yourself and your needs during church you might want to consider this little verse. When the Almighty God abhors you, that's never a good thing.

But as I said this is what I once was, a self worshipper not a God worshipper. My hope and prayer is that you can say the same thing about yourself too. Soli Deo Gloria!