In our entertainment-oriented culture, many churches find themselves trying to “out do” themselves with more and more elaborate additions to worship. What began as special music by a choir becomes a full orchestra with professional soloists. A dramatic reading necessitates a full Broadway stage production (think Cirque du Soleil, seriously). And as long as those who come to worship enjoy what’s offered, anything goes. The expectation is that sermons will be shorter, wittier, and more uplifting. Anything in worship that can’t be “jazzed up” has to be abandoned as boring — and there’s nothing worse than being boring, we’re led to believe.
The problem with this entertainment orientation is that the very object of worship is forgotten. God is the “audience” in worship. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that ignorant worship was unacceptable to God, even though it may have been sincere or enjoyable. John 4:24 reveals, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” To worship God in spirit and truth means that worship must be from the heart, not just outward acts, and that it must be done in exact obedience to God’s commands. The worship has to be directed to Him — not to the whims of the worshipers.
God’s New Testament regulations for worship are neither boring nor out of date. They are God-centered, while entertainment is man-centered.
There’s nothing wrong with the worshiper enjoying worship. David said in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord,” and in Psalm 122:1 he added, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’” An unnamed psalmist said, “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts” (96:8). You should enjoy your worship!
However, we often concentrate on worship one dimensionally; i.e. we talk about what we give to God in exaltation, glorification, and adoration. But God intended worship to bless His children. When worship is merely window dressing for an entertainment performance, it won’t satisfy God. John warned, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9). Paul condemned worship that as “an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion” (Colossians 2:23). “Self-imposed worship” is worship created after man’s desires, and not a “sweet aroma” to God (Exodus 29:18; et al.).
Adapted from Bob Prichard