Where Do I Worship?

     How do I answer this question?  Worship in my experience is viewed largely as the act of singing songs that shower God with a Sunday morning praise experience.  Then I give my tithe, listen to preaching, and interact with like-minded believers.  How wonderful it is!  But is that really what worship is?

    The word worship is used many times in the Bible.  The dictionary definition is to pay reverance or homage, generally in a religious sense.  More deeply, the word revere means to fear, to be in awe of.  Homage, based on the word homme, or man, is intended to show deference towards a greater individual.  The lesser honoring the greater, with fear and awe. 

     The word worship is used often in the Bible.  Many times, deference is shown physically by bowing the head, or falling to the ground.  Bowing of the head has become a standard, while falling to the ground is not something we see so much of in today's Christian society.  This act was done often in the Bible when the Lord revealed himself, for a human cannot see God and live.  Would it then make sense that the more we know Him, the more apt we are to fall before him when we worship?  The closer we are to knowing Him, to seeing Him, the more like dead men we become?  The difference between respecting God and revering God?

     Who knows God best?  In the Book of Revelation, the four and twenty elders that sit before the throne of God fall on their faces and worship.  As do the angels that stand around the throne.  Those that abide in His presence, and see Him for who He truly is, fall on their faces and worship Him.  If I believe in the same God, why don't I?

     This is not to chastise anyone, except myself.  This is not to call into question anyone else's worship experience but my own.  What I must question is how I worship, and why.  I've been told over the course of my life that cleaning the church is an act of worship.  Feeding the hungry is an act of worship.  Paying my tithe is an act of worship.  I have, at times, felt faint when writing out a tithe check, but it wasn't from feeling close to God.  I believe I have confused worship with service and obedience, among other things. 

     Which brings up another question:  Can I worship while doing other things, like driving, or cleaning a toilet?  I would not want to fall on my face while doing either of those tasks, yet I have experienced great times with God while doing both. 

     I believe the answer to all my question lies in perspective.  The answer isn't how I worship, its in how wonderful and magnificent God is.  Its not in my actions, its in His revelation to me.  As he allows me to see and know Him, I will respond in kind.

     Do my actions matter at all, then?  Of course.  God isn't impressed with the size of my offering, but the condition of my heart.  Its not how wonderfully I worship, but how I give my heart to him.  He calls us to acts of service and obedience.  He calls us to be excellent in all we do.  He calls us to love.  He calls us to be holy, to worship him in the beauty of holiness.  As we become more like Him, He will draw us closer to Himself. 

Where do I worship?  John 4:24:  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.