Despite the fact that this idea contradicted the Bible, it was a theory that soon permeated the world as it was embraced by the Roman Empire. Sadly, it also came to permeate the church, in even its earliest forms. The church in Corinth for example, was deeply embattled by this confused thinking and its obvious implications (i.e. The denial of the bodily resurrection - “why would he want that old material thing!”; flawed sexual relations - “why worry what we do with someone else in the body, it’s the spirit that counts”; mis-understanding of charismatic gifts - “It’s better to talk in the tongues of angels than love or care for the needy. etc.)

On Sunday, we saw the dramatic implications of this “spiritual is better than material” thinking regarding how the church came to understand heaven and the after-life (and we’ll come back to it again at the next CityWide), but this week I came to see another way that Plato’s thinking has corrupted our own. It’s with regard to worship - and what we understand worship to be. Let me explain.

In the last number of years, I’ve discovered that many, myself included, have subtly come to equate “good” worship with emotional or “spiritually” charged experiences. Long periods of soaking/meditation/devotionals, extended times of singing and dancing, have been elevated in our minds to the upper echelons of worship, the kind of worship God expects of us if we are really in “sync” with him. Conversely, we have also concluded that when life does not afford us those moments (like - just to pull out an example from far left field - when we have young children and all of our time and energy seems sapped by them), that we are distant from God and that we haven’t really worshipped him, and even more sinister, that somehow we have disappointed him with our lack of devotion. 1

Given all we have been learning, can we see how such an idea may have been influenced by the “spiritual is better” that much of the world and church still quietly, even unknowingly, holds to? The problem with it, is that its a notion that isn’t rooted in scripture. Nowhere does scripture tell us that emotional, experiential, or “spiritual” worship is to be elevated in our hearts and minds. No, in the scriptures, worship is as equally rooted in the ordinary, even the mundane of life as it is in the great singing throngs making their ascent to a festival in Zion.

On a number of occasions throughout Scripture, Paul uses an expression that perhaps best summarizes this thinking. Colosians 3:17 is one example, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 2

“Whatever you do.”

Do we see this? Do we really see it? This is a biblical understanding of worship. A worship that is as rooted in the everyday of life as it is in the moments of the sublime. Our scriptural tradition tells us that, whatever we do, is to be seen as an opportunity to give thanks to God. The challenge then becomes how do we re-program our lives to begin to see all our activities as moments to give praise to God? And further, how do we learn in those moments to encounter the Holy One? This is the real challenge, but it is essential to our journey.

How could I begin to see that last night, when I changed my sons urine soaked sheets, that in that moment I had the opportunity to worship the Father every bit as much as where I standing in a crowd, arms outstretched before the Lord? And how could I begin to train my heart, in those moments, to listen to the voice of the Spirit and receive a holy exchange of his word that my soul so desperately craves.

By all of this, I’m not suggesting that the emotional moments of experiential worship are not good and pleasing. Certainly not. It’s just that I have the sense we need to “round” out our understanding and allow our hearts and minds to come under the control of the Spirit. God simply does not want us chained to thoughts that say, “this is real worship.” And more still, he certainly does not want us to be over-run with guilt when those “real” moments seem few and far between. Hogwash. The Father wants us to rise up and embrace his view that worship, true worship, is found in the whatever we do. The biblical worship, passed on to us through the Jewish tradition, is a worship that has always been rooted in the real “stuff of life”. Embracing this is part of our journey into maturity. It is also part of our journey into freedom from the chains of guilt that the enemy wants to distract us with.

When we go to work and fill out ledgers - God calls us to worship him. When we change smelly diapers and warm our sixth bottle of the day - God woos us to worship. When we sing out at the top of our lungs - God sees our hearts. When we tend our gardens, repair our home, craft our art - the Father says, “do it as a song to me”. And when we make casseroles, and serve the needy - It’s Jesus who looks back with a knowing wink. And through it all, we allow the Spirit to train our hearts and minds to quiet themselves and receive his word and grace.

Friends, it’s time we all leave Plato behind. He meant well, but his ideas which have come to dominate our western world, and our own hearts and minds, were far from those of our heavenly Father. “Real worship” is to be found every bit as much in the mundane as it is in the sublime. Oh that the Spirit could release us to embrace this. Oh that we could begin to encounter the holy one in the daily things of life.

May God bless you, in whatever you do.

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A Couple Footnotes:
1. Jolie says here, "I am effected by this when I get a sudden sense that the moments I spent praising God throughout my day were meagre and not “spiritual” enough. As if serving my children, making a meal or encouraging a friend wasn’t true worship...How can I acknowledge that these mundane things also engage my relationship with a supernatural God?"

2. Certainly there is more in the Bible to support this idea than one scripture. Space limits the discussion to just this verse. If you need more help - let me know. Start by thinking of the incarnation - the idea that God existed in flesh. What does this imply?