Made To Worship (by Ricky Lee Jackson)

As I observe people, and groups of people, it seems abundantly evident that, by design, we were made to worship. By our very nature, it seems, we will worship -- something. We can believe anything we choose to believe, but reality simply -- is.

We may not believe in gravity, but that does not in the slightest change the reality of the existence and effects and laws of gravity. If we, for whatever reason, do not choose to worship the one true God, the only Person, the only Thing worthy of worship, we will by our very nature find something else to worship and elevate.

These other, ‘lesser gods’ that we might worship will necessarily always let us down, either sooner or later. If we are not able to worship the perfect God (who is outside of and above us), we will wish for, and be seduced into expecting perfection from our ‘lesser gods’ (somehow always connected to a god within us, a god connected to ‘self’).

These ‘lesser gods’ may be fame, or fortune, or some variation of supposed fulfillment such as work and career. These gods  may also take the form of an undue elevation of our human relationships, or some ‘movement’ (eg environmentalism), or even ‘worship’ of a political demagogue (history is replete with tragic examples of this type of desperate false worship, and history appears to be repeating itself in our time).

Out of kindness, the One True God will allow, and does ensure that these ‘lesser gods’ will fail us in order to open our eyes to the one and only Way to life. God is the source and provider of life, and to try to have life apart from The Source is as futile as jumping out of an airplane without a parachute and expecting to fly forever—the “freedom” you feel as you hurtle towards the earth will be short-lived, and the inevitable result will always be tragic.

There are only two choices in worship: 1.) worship of some very ‘lesser god’ (a counterfeit god presenting itself in one of innumerable variations of ‘selfism’) that will always result in a loss of true life, or 2.) worship and elevation of the One True God, who created and redeemed us, who always seeks the ultimate best for us and loves us “with an everlasting love”!

We will worship, we will elevate and magnify -- something.

May it be worthy of our adoration and praise!

by Ricky Lee Jackson