Worship as a Lifestyle

We at Worship Circle love to worship through music and praises. But there has to be something more.

There is a mentality within Christianity that worship is contained within several things: walls, time, and circles. When we say “worship,” we automatically have these pictures in our minds of the setting where we think worship happens. It’s the same concept whether you are conservative, liberal or somewhere in between.

Think about it.

When we speak of worship, for some it’s a picture of a chorister waving her arms on the pulpit while for others it’s an image of a band complete with lights and effects in a packed auditorium.

But let me just say that worship is so much more than what we do within church walls, nightly family devotional time, or after-church programs. It’s so much more than getting together as members of a church to sing songs. It’s beyond 9-12am on a Saturday or Sunday morning. And although these things may be parts of what worship is as a whole, that’s just what they are: parts, components if you will.

I believe that the book of Romans captures the essence of worship perfectly. A particular verse comes to mind when dealing with the topic of worship in the book of Romans. After Paul has unpacked how God has chosen to love us, as a response, it says,

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Rom 12:1 (ESV)

This verse, really, has been relegated to dress code, jewelry or how we present ourselves during corporate worship. This verse, just like the topic it deals with, has been confined to our lives within the church walls, within divine service or within spiritual gatherings. But just like the topic of worship, it is so much more than that. This verse is just the tip of the iceberg of what the Apostle Paul was trying to unpack. We need to look beyond this verse until the end of the book in order to get to the true meaning of what worship is in the mind of Paul. And if we do read the subsequent verses and chapters, we will understand this verse for what it truly is:

Worship is practical. It’s Christianity in action. It’s a lifestyle. Our spiritual worship bleeds into our physical lives. It bleeds to others.

Just read Romans 12-15 and you will get a clearer picture of what God expects from us in terms of worship. He calls for our genuine love. He calls for us to love our brothers and to bless those who constantly malign us. He calls for our faith to be constant and growing. He calls us to make sure we don’t cause our brothers to stumble through our liberties. He wants us to live in harmony with each other and to be united for His glory.

If we take these principles into perspective, we will see that worship is so much bigger than the 11am service. Worship is what we do in our everyday life even when nobody's looking. The love of Christ and the mercy and grace He has showered us with causes a response of love towards God and that response overflows to others.

Worship is how we treat our family. It’s how we treat our co-workers. Worship is going through your career in a manner that glorifies God. It’s how we obey and honor our parents. It’s about how we show kindness to others even when they don’t treat us the same way, and even going a step further by praying for them. While worship is reading the scriptures and singing songs, it’s also about taking care of the poor, the outcast and the ostracized. And while worship happens on Saturday or Sunday, it also needs to happen on Friday mornings when you just can’t deal with your boss any longer.

Worship is everything we do in life as a response to what God has done for us.

So let’s worship.