Opus 2024-053: Get Past the Ritual

Worship is exercising a relationship, not going through a ritual.

Think of how you might start your day.  When you brush your teeth it is a ritual.  You develop habits based on a certain way of brushing so that you hit all the quadrants.  You don’t need to think except to make sure that you put toothpaste on your brush and not Preparation H.  When it comes to getting dressed you enter a different zone.  If you are retired and have nothing going on then a ritual can suffice.  If you are going out to breakfast with your wife there are a lot of things to consider:  What does she want me to wear, is this too tight, will this pattern show if I dribble, you know, things like that.  It is a combination of mindless activity, which foot does this shoe go on, and careful consideration.  The minute you walk into her presence it all becomes “think carefully and watch your step”.

Like any relationship, worship has its ups and downs.  Some days are glorious and some days, to be honest, are boring.  Kind of like marriage or parenting.  Like any relationship you get out of it what you put into it.  

God is a person.  We are created in His image.  This is normal.  He is not a machine that just requires the right buttons to be pushed and some oil once in awhile.  If I am bogged down I think about the conversations He has with people in the Bible.  What does that tell me about Him?  If you focus, then praise and thanksgiving will come.

As some commercial once said, “Try it.  You’ll like it.”  It might also change your life.

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