By Justin Rossow
“Do good because God wants you to be happy.”
Yeah, that’s a show-stopper. But it gets worse:
“When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen? Let’s open our hearts to Him today.”
Those comments from Joel Osteen’s wife Victoria in worship at Lakewood Church have caused quite a stir on social media this week. Some have even labeled these words idolatry.
And who could blame them? The logic seems clear: God is happy when you are happy; doing good (like going to church and worshiping God) makes you happy; ergo, worship makes God happy. The more you do it for yourself and your pleasure, the happier God gets, because God wants you to be happy.
This kind of Pharrell Williams theology is worthy of critique; Jesus never promised His followers happiness. In fact, He very explicitly promised them trouble in the world. Then He also told them to take heart, because He had overcome the world (John 16:33).
So it’s natural for a Gospel centered on personal happiness to seem contrary to a Gospel centered in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the sake of sinners. Because it is.
But be careful how you frame your criticism. I hear a lot of people correcting this faulty view by suggesting worship isn’t about us; it’s all about God.
Which sounds right on the surface. But what do you mean by that?
For many Youtube commenters and Facebook theologians, saying worship is all about God appears to mean God is the primary recipient of the action in worship: as we gather and pray and praise, God is honored and glorified and lifted up because, after all, worship is all about Him, right?
Saying worship is all about God appears to mean God is the primary recipient of the action in worship.
Victoria Olsteen seems to understand her critics this way. In response to charges of idolatry, she said on Blaze.com: “Every Lakewood member knows what I was talking about because they have experienced first hand the joy and victory of a Lakewood Church worship service, and the honor, reverence and gratitude we show God.”
In other words, her comments shouldn’t be taken as idolatry because, after all, worship at her church does what true worship is supposed to do: give honor, reverence, and gratitude to the primary recipient in worship, God.
Most Christians in America would agree to that concept without so much as a second thought. I think our English word “worship” is partially to blame.
You see, “worship” is all about ascribing worth; telling God how good and wonderful and merciful He is.
And, hey–ascribing worth to God is a good thing! All creation joins in worth-ship, giving God glory. And we are invited, admonished, even commanded to give God honor, glory, and praise.
But that’s not the most important part of Christian worship.
Here’s how I can tell. God does indeed take pleasure in receiving praise from His creatures. But He doesn’t need it. He loves you, so He’s willing to receive even your imperfect worship, but it’s nothing He couldn’t get from, say, the angels, the stars, the wild animals, or, in a pinch, even the rocks.
One of my favorite psalms puts our sacrifice of praise back into healthy perspective: “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills are mine (declares the LORD) … if I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it!” (Psalm 50) In other words, the honor, reverence, and gratitude God receives from us in worship he could get just as easily somewhere else.
In fact, you could say, it’s a gift from God that He even bothers to lovingly receive our praise. And now we are getting closer to what true worship is all about. God doesn’t need our worship; we, on the other hand, desperately need what God comes in worship to give.
God doesn’t need our worship; we, on the other hand, desperately need what God comes in worship to give.
To say worship is all about God is correct, IF by that you mean, God is the primary actor in worship. Worship is all about what God does.
That’s why the Old School name for worship is the Divine Service; it’s a direct translation of the German Gottesdienst, the service of God to His people.
What’s most important about worship is not what we come to do for God; it’s what God Himself comes to do for us. God isn’t the primary recipient of the action in worship; God is the primary actor. And our response of praise is completely dependent on that primary action of God.
God isn’t the primary recipient of the action in worship; God is the primary actor.
Just as the Glory of the Presence of Yahweh promised to meet His Old Testament people at the Tabernacle, so Jesus Himself promises to show up when two or three are gathered in His Name. Jesus promises to be present in His Word. Jesus promises to be present in His meal. Jesus promises to show up and forgive sins and strengthen faith and yes, even receive the prayers and praises His loved ones offer in response.
As much as I love the image of David the King, half naked, humbling himself as he dances before the Ark of the Covenant, it’s the image of the Son of David that gives us an even deeper insight into what worship is all about: Jesus the King, half naked, with a towel around His waist, humbling Himself as He washes His disciples feet.
THAT’S what worship is all about: Jesus making Himself accessible; serving you, the one He loves; willing to touch your life, and share your burden, and wash your dirty feet.
So worship IS all about God: God the actor, God the doer, God the blesser, giver, feeder, strengthener, encourager, forgiver. Only in a very derivative sense is God a receiver in the Divine Service, and even that reception of our imperfect praise is an act of grace.
So worship IS all about God: God the actor, God the doer, God the blesser, giver, feeder, strengthener, encourager, forgiver.
Worship is not primarily about our ascribing worth to God; worship is primarily about God giving His people the gifts they need to face one more mile on the journey of faith.
Should you come to worship in order to give God praise? Absolutely! But even more, come expecting to receive what God wants to give you in His Word this week.
True worship is focused on the actions of God for His people. Making our own human action toward God the most important thing in worship? Well, that’s just plain … idolatry.
I have been very leery of the Osteen’s for many years. There have been other things they said that was not quite right but I could not put a specific ” what is wrong with this” on it.
This is an excellent word!
In the words of Michael W. Smith:
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that You’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Debbie! I love that song!
And realize that the action in it is FROM us, TO God. Which is certainly part of worship. But not the only part. And, as I was trying to say in this blog, probably not even the most important part.
On Sunday we sang a song in worship that went:
We have gathered to sing these songs,
Wretched sinners and desperate frauds.
Fully covered in Jesus’ blood,
Free to worship the Three in One.
(Kip Fox, Free to Worship)
It’s still a song of praise, and it acknowledges that our response is dependent on God’s primary action.
We receive in worship (and life), and therefore we respond (in worship and life).
The focus is on God’s action in Jesus through His Spirit.
And then, in a secondary way, it’s about our response of praise.
There’s a tough line to walk, which I think Lutheran theology is always comfortable with (eg the balance of law and gospel, faith and works, free will and predestination). It sounds like worship on some level becomes a selfish thing, if the end target is for us to benefit from God. But then if we claim that we are being completely altruistic, we’re probably just deluding ourselves. Great topic.
Yes! There is a both/and here; if you let go of either side, you go wrong. And God still remains the primary actor in worship, just not the only actor. We’ll be exploring the active/passive tension more in our Hand-Crafted Discipleship series starting Sept. 21. (Shameless plug: http://stlukeaa.org/stlukeaa.org/hand-crafted-discipleship.)
When I first ran across the video clip, I thought that she was actually trying to make a good point, just doing it in a rather poorly worded and unbalanced way. In worship, as in all things in our lives, God gives us more than we could ever give Him (especially since our ability to “give” Him anything in the first place is a gift from Him). And yes, one of the reasons we worship is the benefit we get from it.
But there are times when I don’t notice the blessings God gives me when I worship, when worship feels like a chore, when I’m just tired and don’t seem to “connect” with God at all–and if you took Victoria Osteen at face value, you’d think that at those times you might as well not bother with worship.
Thanks for this thoughtful response! It is always a comfort and encouragement to me if I don’t particularly “feel like” worshipping to know that God promises to meet me there. For me, the promise of the presence actually feeds the feeling and emotion, and if the emotion happens not to be there, the promise is still valid.
I am very grateful for this article, Pastor. You manage to sort things out. I am very grieved when I see Christians “bashing” other Christians–seems we have enough of that from the world and we should be willing to come alongside people and give them the benefit of the doubt.
I have some unsaved relatives who have been watching the Osteens (the only “churchy” thing they watch) and I have seen a real change of heart in them. Who knows what God will choose to use? He used a donkey once, and that has always been a big encouragement to me!!! Thanks again.
Marlys! I think that’s a great attitude! You’re not saying our differences don’t matter; rather, even when we don’t get it completely right, God is still active. You keep the focus on God’s action, not ours, which is where I think it belongs.
(Of course, just because God once used a donkey doesn’t mean we should emulate the donkey… Instead, we should trust God is working even when we fall short.)
Good article, Justin. Great job of bringing a present day context/issue into the eternal. I look forward to sharing it with others.
The personal benefits of corporate worship should not be the motivation for participation. C.S. Lewis wrote in Surprised By Joy, “The surest way of spoiling a pleasure [is] to start examining your satisfaction.”
It’s only when we abandon the “what’s in it for me” philosophy and focus all our thoughts and praises to God in gratitude for what He has already done for us that we truly experience the joy of His presence.
C.S. Lewis is one of my favorites!
“What’s in it for me?” is certainly the wrong question to ask. But I do want people coming to worship looking for what God is going to give them, promise them, work in and through them. The focus is on God’s activity, not mine (even though I am actively engaged).
Maybe there are two inadequate responses. If Jesus took off his outer garment, and wrapped a towel around his waist, and knelt down to wash your feet, it would not be right to say, “Jesus, that water is just a little cold, could You warm it up a little? And don’t rub quite so hard; my feet are tender this morning…”
That’s the response I think you reject when you call out the “It’s all about me” attitude.
But a response that is equally inadequate is, “No, Jesus; it’a all about You. Please, sit down and let me wash your feet. Can I get you something to eat? Don’t worry about me; I’m fine. You sit there and let me tell you how awesome You are.”
Jesus comes to serve, to strengthen, empower, comfort, and forgive. The proper response is to receive the gifts He wants to give, and then to respond with repentance, thankfulness, and praise.
Don’t disrespect Jesus by trying to manipulate the gift-giving; and don’t disrespect Jesus by refusing to receive the gift.
How would our attitude to worship change if we had Jesus with a towel in mind when we showed up?
How can we ask, “What does God want me to take out of worship today and into my week? What gift does God want to give?”
“The proper response is to receive the gifts He wants to give, and then to respond with repentance, thankfulness, and praise.”
With all due respect, that’s not consistent with any Biblical example of worship. Most often, the Bible associates worship with humbling oneself, falling to the ground, acknowledging His authority over all aspects of one’s life. The Biblical focus is on God, not any gift He might choose to give.
Kathy! Thanks for keeping the conversation going! (Sorry it took so long to respond; I was out of town for a couple of days.)
I wonder if the way I read the whole Bible affects how I view worship in the Bible.
For me, I see God as the primary actor throughout Scripture; as we respond to His underserved grace, even that response is given to us by God. So in Ephesians 2:8-9 we are saved by grace through faith apart from our action, and then in verse 10 God shapes us as a people who respond with good works–that God also prepared before hand for us to walk in.
Wherever I look in the Bible I see this rhythm: God is the primary actor freely making us His own and equipping us for a life of response, a response in which I am actively engaged, but still has its origin in God and His work.
So when I look at worship in the Bible, that’s the rhythm I see. God Himself chooses to dwell in the midst of His sinful people, so He gives Moses the design for a Tabernacle that will be a place where God comes to meet people. And the Holy God wants to remove the sins of His people, so He gives Moses instructions on the sacrificial system, where blood covers over sin. The people come and worship and bring thank offerings and offer praise precisely because God graciously made His presence available to them and gave them a means to receive His grace.
When David says he wants to build a house for God, God makes sure David understands who the primary actor is: “You want to build a house (temple) for Me?! I’m going to build a house (line of descendants) for you, from which the Eternal King will come to rule all nations forever!” Solomon, David’s son, is allowed to build the temple, but it is in response to God’s action and promise.
When Isaiah sees a vision of Yahweh enthroned above the seraphim in the temple (Isaiah 6), his response is not to tell God how great and awesome He is. His first response is, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen Yahweh of Armies! I am a dead man!” That’s when a messenger of God takes a burning coal from the altar (probably sprinkled with the blood of a lamb, though the text doesn’t say so explicitly) and touches Isaiah’s mouth: “See, this has touched your lips; your sin is removed, your guilt atoned for!” Only then, after the forgiving gift in God’s presence, is Isaiah able to respond to God’s question, “Whom shall we send?” with a joyful, “Send me! Send me!”
God initiates the action. God is the primary actor. We receive His gifts and are also given a response. We actively respond, but even then, God is active in and through us.
That’s how I see worship in the Bible. But that’s also how I see the central message of Scripture. For me, it is very biblical to come ready to receive what God wants to give–“Take and eat, … given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” And then to respond also with great joy! But my action is secondary to God’s, even in worship.
Thank you for a very helpful dialogue!
That was just an amazing response! Thank you so much for caring about your congregation’s heart and taking the time to teach us what we so desperately need to know.