As we consider what the Bible says about worship over the next few weeks, we need to address a common misunderstanding. The sanctity and accuracy of our worship are vitally important if we are to lead a faithful life successfully. Modern commentators and those who promote a “modernization” of religion are teaching a tainted view of worship. Regrettably, this false notion gives many an incorrect perspective on worship, which opens the door to further contamination of the reverence God expects of His people. It is not scriptural to say all of life is worship.
If we honestly study the Bible accounts of worship to God, we see a deliberate act set apart from the ordinary matters of life. A significant aspect of Isaiah’s condemnation of the children of Israel was their failure to worship God as His word had described. But to address whether all of life is worship, we need to explore examples of worship. In Genesis 22:5, Abraham separated himself and his son from others, from their current location and from their current activities to go to worship. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, the mere complexity of worship demanded that the act be both separate and deliberate. Furthermore, the examples we find also show that true and acceptable worship is always done with the heart and mind purposefully engaged with that task.
As we progress in our study of worship, the New Testament shows us the same physical characteristics and the same mental attitude. In Acts 24:11, Paul specifies “…I went up to Jerusalem to worship.” Paul made no claim that the journey to Jerusalem was worship in itself; rather, he specified that the purpose of his travels in that situation was to worship. There are simply no scriptural accounts that identify all of life as worship.
In John 4:24, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” We must not simply worship outwardly, but inwardly as well. Our heart and mind must be engaged in an intentional and complete act of submission of our inner selves. Our posture and attitude in worship require focus and obedience in the deliberate act of bowing before God. Such an attitude is just not possible when we are trying to decide what to fix for lunch. When we are working to navigate the heavy traffic between home and the church building, how can we possibly be in a position where only God is the center of our attention? All of life is not worship. The concentration demanded by righteous, acceptable worship is simply impossible for us to maintain 24/7.
The proposition that all of life is worship is a carefully crafted deception that quietly convinces us to demote reverence and focused service toward God. A belief that all of life is worship demotes that act to the common and ordinary aspects of life. God demands certain aspects of worship, and our lives are to be lived in service to Him. However, let’s not be fooled into thinking that all service is worship. Otherwise, we might eventually discover that our efforts toward both were in vain.
