Me Worship

I wish somebody would have smacked me. Someone should have put me in my place a long time ago.

It seems that I have been living the past couple years with an extreme arrogance. I have had this idea that I was the smartest, wisest, and strongest Christian I know- at least of my peers. I knew I wasn’t perfect but I always just assumed I was the most perfect of anyone I knew.

Someone should have smacked me.

My short time at Missio Dei has already humbled me. I have been surrounded day and night by people my own age that can quote just as much scripture and are just as passionate about their God as I am. The wisdom that just oozes out of every pore of these people astounds me. It is here that God is reminding me that I am no different than anybody else- that I did not deserve to be created who I was nor did I even ask for it. I have realized that all my knowledge and experience have come to me unearned and then to think of how much of it has been wasted disgusts me. This revelation came to me after I had given up trying to find something, anything, wrong with my fellow journeymen that would prove I was a better Christian than them.

So lately God has been showing me that Me is all I am concerned about.

In Mathew 15 a Canaanite woman approaches Jesus begging for the deliverance of her demon possessed daughter. Jesus is pretty harsh with his word choice here in reference to her being a Gentile (as in, not Jewish and therefore not a child of God under the Old Covenant). He says “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs (26 NIV).”

I am not sure what Jesus’ motive was for being so blunt but the point I am trying to make is in her response.

‘“Yes Lord,” she says, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table (27).”

This lady knew she did not deserve a place at the table but was content with eating only the crumbs of everyone else’s leftovers. She was so grateful to even have the smallest portion of God’s power when we can’t stop singing about how much more of God we demand.

Have you ever thought about how self righteous our worship is? Think about the big songs that have made it to the top of the charts of the genre we classify as “Praise and Worship.” How many of them are all about what God is going to do for us, or what we are going to do to worship Him?

Do we ever stop to realize that we don’t even deserve the right to worship the God who is above all things much less demand that we see or feel more of Him?

I’m just wondering.

In the book of Esther we get a glimpse into some Royal customs of an ancient kingdom.

“Before a girl’s turn came to go in to King Xerses, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments prescribed for the woman, six months with oil and myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. And this is how she would go to the king. (Esther 2: 12-13 NIV).

Now ol’ Xerxes was a Babylonian king who was about to annihilate all the Jews from his newly conquered kingdom. He had this whole process that took an entire year to execute for anyone who wanted to just be in his presence. After completing all this Esther only had one night to be with the king and then she would have to be personally summoned henceforward.

This is what people did to be in the presence of an unjust and flawed king of mere men. All we have to do is simply desire to be in the presence of the God who created the universe and we are there.

That astounds me. I cannot wrap my mind about this amazing privilege I have neglected so long out of my own arrogance.

Now, I don’t start worship without first thanking Him for the opportunity. I don't deserve it.