Daily Devotionals

Worship is a hot topic that can get people into heated discussions. Members can have strong feelings and opinions about how to conduct worship, with music being an especially sensitive issue. We should not be surprised, as worship will be a central issue just before the coming of Christ.

I believe the apostle Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian church regarding worship conduct is a solid guideline for keeping us on track. The word decent means to conform to standards of propriety, good taste, and morality. It also means to be free from immodesty. Far too many churches emphasize an “experience” in worship that is heavy on emotion and borders on the sensual.

Discussions on worship remind me of how God made our brains. There are the “higher” powers of the mind in our frontal lobes; this is the moral center for making wise choices. It is the most uniquely human aspect of our brain in comparison with other animals.

Then there are the lower functions in our brains, such as the limbic lobe, which drives by emotion. Some people allow this part of the mind to “run” their lives. They live by their feelings rather than using the frontal lobe to guide their choices. While God gave us emotions, unguided feelings can be deceptive. Emotions should be subservient to our moral thinking, not the other way around.

How does this relate to worship? Too often church services lean toward stimulating the lower brain functions. People come to believe they are only worshiping God if they “feel” elated. It’s misleading. While I believe we should make our services joyful, what guides that joy is not loud music, colorful lights, clapping, and jumping around … but rather a deep appreciation for what God has done for us in the life of Jesus.

Paul guides us to have services that are “decent” and in “order.” These words reflect the higher powers of our mind. When feelings are the primary controlling force in worship, we will be led into an experience that can be false and misleading.

Key Bible Texts

Let all things be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:40 KJV)