What God Do You Worship?
Who or what you worship determines who or what you are.
In his book, The Source, James Michener tells the story of a man named Urbaal, who was a farmer living about 2200 B.C. He worshiped two gods, one a god of death, the other a goddess of fertility. One day, the temple priests told Urbaal to bring his young son to the temple for sacrifice––if he wanted good crops. Urbaal obeyed, and on the appointed day drags his wife and boy to the scene of the boy's "religious execution" by fire to the god of death. After the sacrifice of Urbaal's boy and several others, the priests announced that one of the fathers will spend next week in the temple, with a new temple prostitute. Urbaal's wife is stunned as she noticed a desire written more intensely across his face than she had seen before, and she was overwhelmed to see him eagerly lunge forward when his name was called. When the ceremony was over, she walked out of the temple with her head swimming, concluding that "if he had different gods, he would have been a different man."
Who or what you worship determines who or what you are. And the choices you make and how you spend your time and money says a lot about who or what you worship.
Just about everyone in church circles claim to worship the one true God of the Bible. And most will make a big deal about how the Christian God of the Bible is not the same god as Allah in the Koran. They certainly are very different and do lead to different values and outcomes.
But do all Christians worship that God, the God of the Bible? Do you?
Because worship is a lot more than gathering with others at church to sing songs and listen to sermons. Worship is a lifestyle, and it is characterized by attention to honoring and pleasing that God in daily life, not just showing up Sunday mornings.
I doubt those who are reading this are contemplating child sacrifice or temple prostitution. But there probably are some of you who are sacrificing your kids to your work god, TV god or hobby god. There probably are some reading this who are unfaithful to their spouses worshiping pornography on the internet. Others are worshiping pleasure, food or self (with a pressing drive to receive approval or attention from others).
Who or what you worship determines who or what you are.
When the God of the Bible is worshiped, it determines the kind of husband or wife you are, how you talk at work and with your friends, how you use your spare time, the kind of TV shows you love to watch, and how you treat those who are hard to be around.
So instead of getting worked up about whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God, start here. What God do you really worship.
Do you worship the God Christians are supposed to worship? How evident is that to the people who know you best?
"You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Jesus––Luke 4:8 ESV).