Are We In Danger Of Worshipping Worship?

     The question needs to be asked:  Are we in danger of worshipping worship?  The mood.  The atmosphere.  The melody.  The crowd.  The emotion.  Your favorite worship leader or your favorite speaker.  The band.  The performance.  The feeling.  Are we being moved by the right things?  Are our hearts aimed in the proper direction?
     The problem with our worship culture is that we equate worship with an experience, a moment.  We end up loving worship more than we love God.  We end up talking about worship more than we talk about God.  Our culture has made worship an end in itself, rather than what it should be--a way of life with Jesus at the center.
     But when life is chaotic, what do you turn to?  When crisis hits your life, what worship songs are you singing?  I'm not advocating we create boring, terrible music or rid our services of emotion.  I'm issuing a caution--a warning to guard our hearts from loving worship more than we love God.
     With good intent, many of us are running around focusing on anything and everything but God Himself.  It's as if Jesus is enthroned before our eyes, but we're taking Instagram shots of the throne itself.  We're more enamored by the gifts and talents of God's people than we are by the Creator of all things.  If we took away the music, the songs and the artists, would we have anything to say to God?
     If you were alone in a room with Jesus Christ, what would well up from the depths of your heart?  What would you say or feel?  How would you respond?  Can you talk about worship music for hours but have nothing to say about who God is in your life and what He is doing?  Do you know all there is to know about the latest worship album but are barren when it comes to knowing Scripture?
   My intentions are not to guilt anyone.  I want you to know God.  I want you to have a history of seeing God move and seeing His promises at work in your day to day life.  I don't want you to only look back to the glory days of your faith.  I want each day to bring new perspectives, adventures, divine appointments and experiences that show the reality of God to the world.  That's why the biblical understanding of worship needs to be kept paramount in our minds.
     Being impressed by talented people and feeling good through the duration of their performances is not enough.  The true worshipper will enjoy that and encourage that, but will also see through it to the Giver of all gifts.  The true worshipper learns to sing through the storm and cry out through the confusion of life.  The true worshipper knows how to scour the Scriptures for daily bread. The true worshipper knows how to pray and seek the heart of God.  They aren't just moved by powerful music, true worshippers are moved by the weight of God's glory.  They are hushed by the magnitude of His presence. 
     It's not that great art is wrong or unnecessary.  On the contrary, I'm a musician with a love for the art of playing music.  I do understand, however, the worshipper of God knows how to use it.  It's never an end in itself but a gateway to seeing more of the glory and perfection of God.