B.J. Justice called me a few weeks ago (*see footnote) and relayed a quote he heard on the radio. The speaker was giving a lesson when he said we “worship work, work at play, and play at worship.” I think that is a pretty telling statement.
It’s easy to get our priorities out of order. We spend many more hours at work than we do in recreation or worship. The danger can be we give ourselves emotionally and even spiritually to our secular pursuits and leave little for God.
Do We Worship Work?
This is an understandable temptation. We generally spend more hours at work than we do with our family, in recreation, or worshipping God combined. There are 168 hours in a week. If you subtract eight hours a day for sleep, each of us is left with 112 hours per week. Work takes at least another 40-hours out of our week. And if you work 50-60 hours per week (which is not uncommon) or commute 30-45 minutes a day, the numbers add up quickly
We can see, touch, and calculate the value of our jobs. We even fear the loss of them because we can calculate the impact it has on our lives. But is our job more important than our soul just because we can see one and not the other?
King David made this mistake. He was so involved making war and building an empire he let his family fall through the cracks. David indulged his passion with many wives. He even destroyed other marriages to get what he wanted. In the meantime, he allowed his children to run wild. Absalom, his favorite, even usurped David’s throne and ran him out of Jerusalem before David could regain his position.
At the end of David’s life, his son Adonijah decided he should be king instead of his brother Solomon. What made Absalom and Adonijah feel they could openly defy their father. The answer is contained in one of the saddest verses in scripture: “And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, ‘Why have you done so?’”-I Kings 1:6. David worshipped his work and did not take time to even correct his children. He may not have been able to see the consequences at the time because they were not temporal like gold, victory, or a nation. But they were just as damaging and long lasting. David worshipped his work and destroyed his family.
Work at Play
There is nothing wrong with recreational activity. In fact God commanded men to rest at least one day a week from work: “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest;”-Exodus 34:21. We all need recess.
But there is the danger of thinking God interferes with our play. How many people see Sunday morning as the perfect time to fish, sleep, or watch television and view God as somehow “taking up all my play time.” That is foolish on so many levels.
Whose time is it? “God created the heavens and the earth.”-Genesis 1:1. God created not only the earth but time. The time is his not ours. To boldly say to God, “it’s my time and I will do with it as I please” is a mistake. God gave us Jesus so that all might have the chance of salvation. He has given us His time for us to preach the gospel unto all nations. Is it too much to ask for us to “sacrifice” a little time to worship God and study his word?
Play at Worship
Much of the religious world literally plays at worship. The band plays during worship, the children play instead of worship, and they build facilities for people to play which have nothing to do with worship. But we have to be careful as well.
When we sing songs like “Holy, Holy, Holy,” do we really raise a song of praise to God or are we just enjoying a beautiful melody? “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.”-Psalm 33:1
When there is public prayer; do we all join in spirit in petitioning God as a congregation? The man who leads us in prayer does just that. We are all praying together as a congregation. When it ends can you truly say, “so be it?” If so, let the congregation say “Amen” (Psalm 106:48, I Corinthians 14:16).
How about when God’s word is being read, the Lord’s Supper is being observed, or even during our giving? Do we worship God with our ears, hearts, mind, and even our goods? Our attitude should be that of Solomon:
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”-Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
Remembering who God is and who we are will go a long way toward making sure we worship God in all elements of our lives. Worship of God comes first, our family comes second. We need to work to accommodate our worship and service to God and our fellow man (Ephesians 4:28). We need play to re-energize ourselves and prepare us to thank God from whom all blessings flow.
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