"Oh Worship the King"

“I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord God that cost me nothing.”  2 Samuel 24:24a

David would not give an offering to the Lord that did not cost him.  Worship without sacrifice is not worship. Lack of preparation, prayer, or planning limits the possibility of worship.  Sunday school without study is boring.  Music without practice suffers.  Sermons without preparation are repetitive.  When we do not give anything to worship, we do not get anything in return.  King David of the Old Testament knew how to worship.

If you want worthwhile worship, it is not by attending a church with a professional team of worship leaders and performers.  Worship is taking up the cross that God has given you, and sacrificing yourself in the service of worship. Those whose worship costs them nothing are to be pitied.  From Jesus’ lips come the standard for all sacrifice:  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We do many things to hinder worship.  Crying babies, fidgety children, talking teenagers, and snoring men are not hindering worship.  They may be distractions, but they do not hinder worship.  They are symptoms, but the source has deeper roots that King David understood.