We’ll Serve What We Worship

“In the future,” said Andy Warhol, “everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” It seems like a lot of people today have fame for no reason. Yet we follow everything they do.

Are we turning people into gods? Is this misplaced worship? What is it inside of us that makes us want to idolize another person?

God’s words that thundered from Mount Sinai still ring true today: “You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3 NLT).

So why is it that we want to admire, emulate, or even worship someone or something? It’s because we were made that way. You see, we were created to glorify God. We were wired to worship. And the Bible says that God has placed eternity in the heart of man (see Ecclesiastes 3:11).

There’s a spark inside of us that says there is more to life than what we’re experiencing. We sense this at a very young age. It’s all about the next toy. Then it’s about the next video game or new outfit. Then, as we get older, it’s about a car or a house.

From the moment we were born, we’ve been on this quest because God prewired us to recognize there is more to life.

Now, animals aren’t this way. They don’t sit around and wonder about the mysteries of the universe. But people do all the time. That’s what is unique about us. We were made for a purpose. We were made to worship.

This has been God’s plan for humanity from the very beginning. When God created our first parents, Adam and Eve, and placed them in a veritable paradise, their job description was to discover God’s creation and enjoy all that God had made.

Most importantly, they were to have communion with God Himself. Every day, the Lord would come into the Garden of Eden and have a conversation with his friend Adam. What a wonderful life that must have been.

But there was only one tree in the garden that God said they couldn’t eat from. And where do we find Adam and Eve hanging around? The wrong tree. They could eat the fruit from every other tree in the garden. They could enjoy every other thing. But they immediately gravitated toward the one thing God warned them to stay away from.

Ultimately, of course, they ate the forbidden fruit. They sinned. They went the wrong direction. And then, just as he did every day, Adam heard the voice in the garden calling out, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9 NLT).

This wasn’t because God was bewildered regarding Adam’s whereabouts. God knew exactly where Adam was. And God wanted Adam to admit his condition.

Essentially God was saying, “Adam, how did it work out? I told you not to eat of the forbidden fruit, and you did it. How are things going? Did it give you everything you were hoping for? Are you happy now?”

If Adam were honest, he would have acknowledged that he felt an emptiness, because he was missing the purpose for which he was created.

Like Adam, we were made for a purpose. We were made to worship. In fact, the New Testament book of Revelation describes this scene in Heaven: “The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, . . . saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (4:10–11 NKJV).

We exist on this earth to bring God glory and to bring Him pleasure. And in effect, God is still saying today, “Where are you?” He’s saying, “I love you and want to spend time with you. I want to have fellowship with you and speak with you. And I want to bless you.”

We are not here on earth to simply chase after our personal happiness. Awhile back, a poll revealed that 61 percent of Americans believed the main purpose of life is “enjoyment and personal fulfillment.” And amazingly, 50 percent of those polled identified themselves as born-again Christians.

But is that really the purpose of life—enjoyment and personal fulfillment?

No, it isn’t.

We exist to bring glory to God. And if we bring glory to God, then we will find the fulfillment and purpose we’re searching for. On the other hand, if we leave God out of the equation and chase after other things, we never will be fulfilled.

But before we can fulfill the purpose for which God made us, we have to know Him—not just know about Him but know Him personally.

We were made in the image of God to know Him and glorify Him. Yet how often we miss that purpose altogether and just chase after what interests us personally. And when we fail to glorify God, we are not doing what we were made to do.

Ultimately, we will serve what we worship. And everyone worships someone or something. What altar are you bowing before right now?

If you bow before the altar of material things, you will serve material things. If you bow before the altar of pleasure, you will serve pleasure. But if you bow before the altar of Jesus Christ, you will serve Him.

Jesus asked this question: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:26 NLT).

If you’re a Christian, if you have asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, then you are no longer your own. The Bible tells us, “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT).

The breath you are drawing in your lungs right now is a gift to you from God. Don’t even for a moment take that for granted. You were created to glorify God.

—

Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie.

This article was originally published at WND.com.