Day 7: Going Through the Motions is a Form of Worship
by Matt Bonnett
Scripture
“Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” —Matthew 15:7-9
Application
Worship, by its own definition, is the ascribing of worth to an entity, idea, value, or purpose. In every gathering of the body of Christ, worship takes place. The concern posed here in the Gospel of Matthew isn’t about whether worship is taking place or not, but whether the target is the right one. Throughout the years of ministry, I have seen worship that is aimed properly, and God uses it for His glory (Ephesians 2:10) because people are doing what they are doing with excellence (Colossians 3:17) with the sole purpose of making much of Jesus and pushing forth the life-changing narrative of the gospel. Conversely, I have also seen remarkably talented teams that have put forth a product of musical excellence, but the substance was less about the glory of God and more about the talent and treasures of men. This fine line of purpose and drive is the catalyst for the scripture in Matthew restated from the book of Isaiah – we can go through the motions, use our talents, and never be swayed by the message our music is bringing to the gathering week in and week out. We walk in information and talent instead of transformation and authentic leadership. All this posturing begins with our hearts and where we see our role as leaders of worship within our ministry service.
As someone who has suffered from leading out of my talent, I can craft a very meaningful service, put all the right parts together, execute it with skill and professionalism, and walk away empty while simultaneously leading my people to an empty expression of corporate worship simply because I never took the time to prepare my heart to lead – instead I prepared my talent alone – I completed my function/role without it ever touching my heart. While I could skillfully play and sing, I did not lead out of an overflow of transformation of my heart because I was more concerned about getting it right and doing it well than letting the message of the music permeate me before I led others. The biggest difference here was when I was transformed by the music I was leading, I invited people into that transformation – when I wasn’t, I just invited them to sing. Sunday comes every 7 days and that relentless schedule can many times cause us as leaders and worshippers to fall into the motions of worship and forget that transformative worship is what reflects God’s work in us and through His people.
As leaders, we can guide others based on the limits of our personal investment and understanding. When we prepare well and allow the music we lead to transform us, we sing and lead out of an overflow. When we prepare poorly and lead out of skill and information alone, we have talent but lack the power of God’s personal work in us – leading us to lead well with our lips and instruments, but our hearts are far from Him. As you consider your role in worship today, ask yourself – How can I be better prepared to lead out of a spiritual overflow instead of through my skills alone? God honors those who seek Him and when our skill is centered in His transformative work in our lives we will lead others well because of His work in us, not just our talents.
Reflection
- In looking at your leadership, can you identify days where God was moving mightily through you and other days where it just felt like you were going through the motions? As you look at that contrast, what were some of the defining differences in your personal preparation spiritually leading up to those leadership opportunities?
- Consider your personal preparation for leadership – do you spend time developing your craft and deepening your spiritual understanding? How much time do you take to spiritually digest a Scripture or song and apply the truths of what it teaches through the lyrics to application points in your life?
- Romans 12:1-2 calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds – How do you allow that principle of personal growth to be an anchor for your leadership week in and week out?
Prayer
"Lord, would you place within me a burning desire to love your Word, to love its truth, and to reflect it in my personal opportunities for leadership. I do not desire to lead with my lips and my heart be far from You. I desire for my heart to be deeply aligned with your purpose for me and for the church, which requires me to know You before I ever know the music I have the privilege to lead others in. As I prepare to skillfully lead, would you draw me deeper into the spiritual transformation necessary to sing and play out of an overflow of what you are doing in me so that as I lead others, I do so with an authentic understanding of You, Your sanctifying work in me, and Your love for Your bride – the Church. In Jesus’ Name, Amen"