I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll a couple days ago, and it had me thinking. If you haven’t listened to Driscoll speak, you should go and check him out by going here: http://www.marshillchurch.org/ and going to the Sermons & Music link in the middle of the bar at the top of the page. His sermon was about worship, and his point was that everyone worships someone or something because we are made to worship.
“Woa. What?” you say. ”But I’m not religious, I don’t get into that stuff.”
Yes you do. The origin of the word religion originally meant doing something repetitively and intentionally (such as watching Burn Notice religiously, which I do). You may not confess faith in a god, but you definitely do things religiously. And you worship something. Pastor Mark defined worship as a fervent, continuous outpouring. It is an action that requires an object of worship. In a defined religion, the deity is the object of worship and the action of worship often consists of singing, praying, and other such things. This still happens in places outside of a church or temple, though.
Are you a sports fan? Sports could be the object of your worship, and the act may include going to games, buying merchandise, and tailgating. Are these things inherently wrong? Not at all. But anything can become an object of worship if we put it on a pedestal.
If you go to Ohio University like I do (or just about any other college, really), there is a decent chance that you worship alcohol. You might talk about drinking, plan elaborate ways to get it if you aren’t 21, and consume ungodly amounts of it. Worship. Idolatry Is drinking inherently wrong? No. But getting drunk and depending on alcohol for “social lubrication” is definitely worshiping alcohol. Think about that.
Another example absolutely blows me away. It’s so obvious that it’s in the name: American Idol. American Idol is specifically designed to cause the audience to idolize the contestants and worship them by voting for them and following their every victory and failure. Idolatry. Worship.
You may not even know you’re doing it. I may be fooling myself into thinking that I don’t have any idols. Well, here’s the wakeup call. The problem with worshiping things other than God, Pastor Mark says, is that they will all eventually let us down and then we have to find something new upon which to rest our hopes and dreams. Eventually your team will go on a losing streak, that awesome band will break up, and (hopefully) American Idol will end forever. Do I hear an amen on that last one? I thought so.
So then the question becomes this: what should people be worshiping? “Even if it is worship, I have the right to worship whatever I want!” The problem with this, as Pastor Mark points out, is that we aren’t made to be fulfilled by worshiping anything created. We are made to be fulfilled by worshiping the Creator God, Jesus Christ. Worshiping anything else is not fulfilling, and worse, it is idolatry.
“Seriously dude? That’s so lame!” I can tell you from experience that it is anything but lame. It’s amazing and awe-inspiring. But back to the point. I’m not condemning entertainment, recreation, or any such thing (or anyone involved in them). What I’m saying is that you won’t find lasting satisfaction in them. Not completely. Not ever. The only thing we will ever be completely filled by is the God we were created to worship.
I realize that you may be very skeptical. I have no doubt that you’re very attached to some things in your life, and you probably don’t want to change how you relate tot hem. I say that because I’m the same way. I love blowing people up online in Halo and talking trash and all that. In small doses it’s all good. In copious amounts, it’s an idol. Well, next time you hit a ditch because something lets you down, think about why you’re upset. What have you been worshiping that has let you down? Then consider the closing of the Apostle John’s first letter to churches across Asia Minor:
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. he is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:20,21)
So what are you idolizing? What are you worshiping? Still think nothing? Give it a while, and it will make itself apparent once it fails. Don’t worry though. Jesus doesn’t fail, and He would love to be a part of your life.
Just listened to that sermon, and you nailed it. I have been struggling with a worship of entertainment, mainly movies and tv. however, i have been recently changing my perspective. Instead of looking at a movie or show and thinking about whether its good or not on it’s own, i try to lok at how that movie or show brings glory to God. And, considering He is the master creator and storyteller, i can usually find something.
Yeah man, that’s a great way of looking at it! The interesting thing is that nearly everyone recognizes the significance and value of Biblical principles when they make stories, they just might not realize that those principles are from the Bible. For example, self-sacrificial love is usually seen as a great, inspiring thing, because it is. The only step that’s missing is connecting that principle with its source, the gospel. This is a huge reason why I think Christian storytelling in movies, games, and other entertainment, has huge potential to make an impact, if it’s done right. I’ll probably post on this idea soon, actually.
Alex,
I was trying to decide if I should contact you, considering we haven’t talked in a long while, but i have been following your blog (which by the way, is wonderful) and it seemed like I should say something!
So first of all…I LOVE Mark Driscoll, so it made me happy to see that. Second of all, I really appreciate your boldness and fire for God. It’s encouraging to read and see other believers in the secular college world. I saw OU is number 2 on the party schools this year, which is funny because I am at DePauw (which is a school of 2,300 people) and we were number 10. I just wanted to encourage you to keep on track and thank you for the encouragement you provide me…and my guess is you had no idea! Have a fabulous year at school and thanks again.
If you ever need anything, prayer or whatever, I am more than willing to help out!
Sarah, thanks so much for the encouragement! I really appreciate it. I’m glad that this blog seems to be having such a positive effect on people who read it. Mark Driscoll is definitely a great Godly preacher. If you like him, you might consider checking out Matt Chandler and John Piper as well. They are both fantastic.
I’m glad you decided to say something after all because I love the feedback. I definitely want this to be a conversation instead of just me ranting on my thoughts. After a while I actually plan to move this to a forum so that that will be easier to do. At any rate, I would love it if you kept up the feedback so I can know what’s working and what needs to be improved. And spread the word if you feel it should be spread. I’m definitely trying to make this grow so I can reach out to more and more people. It’s good to hear from you again!