Who or what do you worship?

We all worship or follow or believe in someone or something.

Worship is defined as reverence; or to adore, honor or admire something or someone. It can be a god or an idol of some kind. We might worship a thing rather than a deity.

There are many who worship money or success to the exclusion of all else.

Some worship actors or sports figures, though they might not see it as worship in the way a Christian worships God, but it’s worship none the less.

Some people worship themselves.

We are instructed to worship things or ourselves almost daily if not hourly through all the advertising that is foisted upon us. We are told we should want this or that product or service. We are shown what worshiping a car or a certain make-up or drug can do for us. The advertisers don’t call it worship, but that is what they are promoting.

Worship this Car and you’ll be happier.

Worship is product and you’ll look better.

Worship this service and your life will be better.

Of course all the advertiser wants us to do is buy their product or service.

Magazines sell the worship of famous people all the time; it’s what keeps them going.

I don’t follow sports the way a lot of people do, but I do have favorite actors and actresses, I just don’t worship them. At the furniture store I work at we offer pictures for sale and one is of John Wayne, the actor, all done up in a western costume he wore in one of the movies he made. I like John Wayne and I like most of his movies and enjoy watching them. But when I look at that picture I think to myself, he was just some guy pretending to be a western hero. He never chased down a real bad guy, never really shot anyone or took any real bullet in the leg or shoulder. He was just an actor doing what he did best, act.

It’s the same with singers and athletes, they are just people who work at a job that is very public and they are good at it. So then, why do so many of us worship them?

Why are so many of the biggest movies over the last few years about people with superhuman powers? Why are we obsessed with bigger than life heroes?

Why do we worship superheroes?

Secretly I think we all want to believe there is someone out there watching over us, someone who will swoop in and save the day when things are the darkest. We all want Superman to be real. Some of us wish we were him.

I know when I was a little kid, I wanted to be Superman, I played games with my friends where I was the superhero coming in to save the day. No bullet could touch me; I could bend steel in my bear hands, even if it was only play-dough. I think when we grow up; we transfer those desires to sports figures or singers or actors and the characters they play.

If we can’t be the hero, then we vicariously live out those fantasies through the worship of these so called heroes.

But it’s false hero worship. We are not the hero of the movie or TV show and it’s all make-believe anyway. We are not the guy making the great catch to win the game; we are not the one who sings to thousands. We want to be but we aren’t, at least most of us aren’t.

Then there are those of us who put money or power ahead of everything else in their lives. They worship money and the things it can buy. They crave power and control over people and things, in essence becoming the superhero they wished they could be.

Some people worship nature and make it out to be some kind of god. They care more about a plant or animal then they do about people. As the Bible says, “They worship the creation more than the creator.”

Before I go on further, I have to say that it’s not necessarily a bad thing to follow sports or an actor or singer. And it’s not always bad to work hard to make the money you need to pay the bills and do the things you like to do. And it is a good thing to be attuned to the environment; we all want clean water and air, and most of us like animals and can see value in them.

The problem arises when we put these things and people above everything else in our lives, above our family and friends.

You see, all those things we tend to worship are temporary. Actors, singers and athletes die or retire. Houses and all the toys we put in them burn or break or we die and those we leave behind could care less about all the stuff we’ve collected.

Most of the stuff we worship and put above everything else in our lives will never last. In fact this whole planet we live on will someday burn up when our sun goes nova, or some large object will crash into it and that will be the end.

Who or what should we worship?

That is why there is only one person who deserves our worship, and that is Jesus, who is God in the flesh. The Bible tells us in John 1:3, speaking of Jesus, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

In other words it was through Jesus that this planet and all that is in it or on it, above it or under it was made. It was through Jesus that we were made, and given our talents and abilities as either actors or singers or athletes; or whatever we are good at. It was through Jesus and the skills He built into us that we are able to do the things we do to earn a living.

Twice in the book of Revelation we are told to not even worship Angels, but to worship Him who sits on the throne. Why would we worship mere mortals when we are not even to worship Angels?

Jesus tells us in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Jesus further instructs us in Luke 12:29-31,

29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

It is good to work and provide for your family, for the Bible also instructs us that those who can but do not work should not eat. Keep things in the proper perspective. Life is not all about the things we own or the power we wield, it’s about those we love and those who love us. And that cannot be measured in money or power.

I have said it before and I will say it again, the meaning of life is Love, Love for God, His Love for us, our Love for each other and the Love of those around us.

I like to watch a good actor create a part or a good singer sing a song. And it’s fun when your team is winning the game, but it’s not the be all and end all of anything. I can appreciate a sunset or a great view, but I don’t worship it. I worship the God who created it and placed it there for me to appreciate.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Jesus tells us this in Matthew 24:35. This world will pass away just as we will pass away, but His words will never pass away, He will never pass away.

Why should we worship someone or something that at some point in time will pass away?

While we can appreciate the people and things of this world for what they are, the only one who truly deserves worship is the one who created them all, Jesus Christ, My Lord, My God and My Savior.