Where is our respect due to God?

It’s been a while on my mind and sometimes I’m very disappointed in myself, because I always miss out the true joy of worshiping God on a Sunday morning.

Why is Sunday morning’s worship so important?

Because it is the pinnacle of an overt worship to the Lord our God. It is the time to truly reflect of His grace, His love and His mercy throughout the week. It is the time where we gather to break bread and drink the cup as often as we can. To be reminded over and over every week, because He died for us whilst we’re still sinners that we may live and enjoy the wonderful and depthless joy of Eternal life!

Romans 5 : 8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I know sometimes we think, we worship God through our entire life, so why is a Sunday morning that different anyway? As long as I’ve been glorifying Him, is it that bad to be not giving the appropriate attention and love due on a Sunday morning to our Lord?

How? Well, maybe sleeping late on a Saturday night watching football or playing games. Or maybe something more responsible like doing homework/assignment and studying for exams. But honestly, is the Saturday night the only time slot possible to do all of that instead of every other time throughout the week?

I confess I am still struggling with it. I always aim to sleep at 10p.m but often than not, it always almost reaches 12am. I’m not saying that we all must strictly sleep at 10p.m, but you know yourself, get the proper amount of rest so that you can wake up early with a great state of mind and a heart ready to worship the Lord!

What about during the worship itself?

I sometimes catch myself off guard chatting away with the others before worship.

I find that strange because we sometimes justify that we should fellowship and maybe even talk to a stranger so that we can reach out but isn’t there a more appropriate time to do all of that (or should I say abundant time to do so). Shouldn’t we be trying to reach the inner quiet sanctuary of our hearts to be in prayer, to be fully conscious that the Lord is in the midst of us and that we bow in worship?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,”

How about during the singing and prayer?

I like to picture our worship to the Lord like this.

Imagine a King, a Glorious, wonderful, Almighty King is sitting on a splendorous throne. With one lift of his finger, he could demand your life to be taken away for any misconduct. You can try to shout or try to scare him with your social status and wealth, but nothing can stop him doing so. And in this time that you’re facing him, you’re told to worship him.

And here we go everyone in the huge room singing their lungs out in reverence for the king. And then suddenly, you can see a few persons yawning, some walking off to the toilet and some of them talking to one another.

If you watch those drama series that are based on the medieval times or even during the emperor days in China, you can already see the outcome of that sort of conduct.

Thankfully, and I must stress it again, with all my heart thankfully, The Lord is SO patient, SO loving and SO merciful that He doesn’t choose to do so.

But instead of us learning to be better and strive harder, we take it for granted thinking that whatever we’re doing is normal traditional ritual week after week. I won’t take that stand any longer and I plan to continue striving the best I can, I hope whoever you are that is reading this, would follow my lead as well.

While some people want to argue that it is the heart of worship that counts the most during the Sunday morning, then I must question, how is it then while it is so much harder to obtain a heart that worship God, you can’t even express it outwardly? Is making sure that your body is in a best of state to worship God that hard to do?

Wouldn’t you do so if you’re going to meet the president of a country? What is a man then compared to God?

The irony above it all is, even our neighbor religion could do so. With their body prostrate and none of them randomly walking away to the toilet, handphones ringing and some even chatting amongst themselves. What a shame! And we’re even told to reach out to them and yet they see us treating our God in such a manner compared to them.

So the question I would like to end with this article is, Where is our respect due to God on a Sunday worship?

Do think and reflect on it!

I Chron 16:27-29

“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.”

-Gary Heng

Images are taken from :

http://www.itsablackthang.com/Ted-Ellis-art-work.htm
http://www.newziononline.org/index.html?menu_id=40
http://equilibrios.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/ate-o-wc-educa/
http://www.declarepeace.org.uk/captain/murder_inc/site/masons.html