Worship

As a worship leader at my church, one of my jobs is to, well, lead people into worship. I've often wondered why people hold back. I wonder why they worship God in a half-hearted way I mean, it's GOD! He doesn't bless you half-heartedly. Why treat Him that way? But then I realize that it could be that people's experiences with and views of Him are distorted and skewed based on their upbringings and poor teachings. I realize that sometimes people, myself included, just go through the motions. It's not that we don't love God. It's just at that moment, we are thinking about ourselves and not focusing on Him. I also realized that I shouldn't judge but I should read between the lines (pun DEFINITELY intended). God doesn't look at the outward appearance so why should I? (1 Sam 16:7)
And then I wondered about those who don't necessarily have a lifestyle that would lead one to believe that Christ is their Lord and Savior. I sometimes think that maybe they don't worship Him because they don't want to or don't think He exists. Maybe they just don't know how to. And then I really thought about it. It's not possible that people don't know how to worship God. We are all born with a fundamental calling to worship and when we don't worship God we find something else to take His place whether we realize it or not. Worship means that we completely lose ourselves in that person, place, thing, or idea that we are focusing on. Worship means prioritizing whatever it is that we find has value or WORTH. Worship is a lifestyle so whether it be a ball club or clothes or music or role models or food, it consumes our daily lives in some way- in thought or in action. In some way, it affects our decisions consciously or subconsciously. What does that look like? Glad you asked...
I was reviewing the Michael Jackson memorial videos on YouTube and I stumbled across Beyonce's Halo tribute at the Essence Music Festival.

When I watched it, I immediately thought, "This is how God wants His people to worship Him!" He wants us to completely abandon ourselves to Him no matter who is around. He wants us to be open about our feelings and experiences as to what He has done in our lives. He wants us to testify about it just like Beyonce did in this video.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this wasn't an emotional moment for her. I do NOT want to discredit her feelings or experiences with Michael Jackson. However, if Michael Jackson's death can bring someone to tears and to their knees, if his death can cause many who don't even know him or barely even heard of the things he did to now all of a sudden pay homage to him, if Michael's death can affect an entire globe then how much more should the death and resurrection of Christ cause the world to draw closer to God! How much more should there be a response to desire to get to know God better! How much more should people be appreciative of the fact that a loving God sent His only Son to die on the cross for their sins because He wants them to be with Him in heaven for all eternity! How much more powerful should Jesus' resurrection be! As influential as he was, Michael Jackson will never come back from the dead; but Jesus already has!  How many people, even those who claim to follow Christ, worship Him with the abandonment that Beyonce showed in this video? It's time we reevaluate our lives and see what it is we abandon ourselves to. So I ask you the question: What is it that you worship?