Our Motivation In Worship

So I managed to slumber through most of my time allotted for my daily prayer, it amazing I can sleep so well sitting up.  I am grateful that the Lord, doesn't have a problem with my slumbering in His presence.  I used to love it when my kids slept in my lap, or on my chest when they were very small.  On the prayer side of things, I was, however, reading and meditating on Mark 7 when I slid into my slumber.  There are a few verses that are good for reflection - Mark 7:5-7 NIV:

[5] "So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

[6] He (Jesus) replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“ 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
[7] They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.'"

These verses from Isaiah have been an important reflection point for me many times.  For they help me check the state of faith.  I have always remained active in my congregation, but many times my heart has been disengaged.   My desire is that I not only honor Him with my lips, and in actions, but do so out of true affection for Him.

I grew up in a denomination that had a very refined liturgy, and many of the things we did were empty of meaning to me, but I did them because that is what we learned to do.  It was later, as I grew in my relationship with the Lord, that I started understanding the meaning behind many of the liturgical acts, and chose to do them out of relationship, not out of training.  It is this transition of heart motivation that the Lord is after, and is commenting on concerning the Pharisees.  They loved their religious rules and requirements more than God, to the point where there was no real love for God in their hearts.  Worship is supposed to flow out of relationship, and their worship was following rules, thus their worship was in vain.

I heard a great definition of worship once that still is my operating definition.  The individual said worship should be like a child running into the arms of their loving father.  In this simple act the child speaks volumes about their relationship, and the father clearly responds in like manner.

So let us examine our hearts and our motivation for participation in worship in whatever congregation we belong to.  The Lord is interested in our hearts much more than He is our liturgical excellence.  He is about relationships, not rules. Let us pursue Him who loves us and is waiting for us with open arms.