Because we are wired for worship, we become what we worship...

This week, we have been asking and answering the question “What happens when we worship?” by looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Psalms. We looked on as the Psalmist called humanity to value the Lord as being of ultimate value by giving the Lord the honor He deserves.

We looked on as the Psalmist pointed to the reality that the reason why we are to honor the Lord by making much of His name is because of the Lord’s steadfast love and devotion that has been demonstrated by His abundant faithfulness to His people and His promises. The Psalmist pointed us to worship the Lord by giving honor to His name because the Lord is firm in His promises to His people and is steadfastly devoted to His people.

The Psalmist then revealed in an answer to a timeless question that the idols that were the objects of worship by those who worshipped false gods instead of the Lord were creations of the created. Unlike the Lord, who exists outside of creation as the Creator of all that exists, those who worshipped false gods were worshipping images that were created by the One who created everything that exists.

As a result, those who were worshipping idols and images of their false gods were worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. The psalmist then hammered home the point that as products of created beings instead of the Creator, these idols are empty and devoid of power. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to be engaged and were unable to engage. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to speak to those who worship them.

These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable hear prayers or answer prayers. These idols that were the objects of the worship of false gods were unable to intervene in events in history because they were in fixed locations and could not travel anywhere. Unlike the Lord as the One True God, theses idols were devoid of power and were unable to engage and be engaged.

After hammering this point home, the psalmist then makes a statement that is one of the most powerful and profound statements in the entire Bible when it comes to worship.  This statement is so profound that is has the potential to radically change our perspective on worship. And it is in the statement that we see the psalmist profoundly provide a timeless answer to the question “What happens when we worship?” So let’s take a few minutes and look at this statement together in Psalm 115:8:

 Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.

Now just take a minute and let this statement sink in: “Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.” What is so interesting here is that the phrase “Those who make them will become like them” literally reads "those who make them are like them". In other words, everyone who makes something into an idol that they worship as god is just as empty and devoid of power as that idol. Just as something that has been created is empty and powerless before the Creator, those who worship an image, an idol of something that is created, is empty and powerless before the Creator.

The Psalmist’s point here is that everyone who places their confident trust in something other than the Lord as God, becomes like what they have placed their confident trust in before the Lord, which is to be powerless to do anything that results in them experiencing a right relationship with the Lord. And it is here, in this powerful and profound statement, that we discover a timeless and true answer to the question “What happens when we worship?” in that because we are wired for worship we become what we worship.

The timeless reality is that because we are wired for worship we become what we worship. We become what we worship because, as we have talked about throughout this series, worship is a life lived in response to what we value most. And because worship is a life lived in response to what we value most, what we value most in worship is something we will become obsessed with. And inevitably what we value most, what we become obsessed with, we will end up imitating.

And intuitively we know this to be true, don’t we?  That is why young boys will imitate their dads when they see their dads shaving. That is why young girls will imitate their moms when they see their moms putting on makeup. That is why teenagers will spend inordinate amounts of time learning the moves of their favorite athlete or musician. When we become obsessed with something as being great, we begin to imitate what we think is great. Remember the “Be like Mike” commercials from Nike?

And as a result of what we value most, as a result of what we become obsessed with, once you start imitating what you are valuing as of supreme value, you begin to become what you value. If you worship sexual pleasure, you will become obsessed with sex and pleasure to the point that sex will become empty and devoid of meaning, because sex and pleasure are devoid of the power to be of supreme value. I

f you worship money or possessions, you will become greedy because there is never enough money, because money is devoid of the power to be of supreme value. If you worship position and status, you will become obsessed with position and status to the point that there is never enough position and status, because position and status are empty and devoid of the power to be of supreme value.

There is only One Being that has the power to be of supreme value; and that One being is the Lord. Every other object of worship is unable to be engaged and is unable to engage. And every other object of worship besides the Lord is powerless to do anything that results in us experiencing a right relationship with the Lord.

So here is a question to consider: What does what you are becoming reveal about what you are worshipping? What does what you desire to imitate reveal about what you are worshipping? What does what you find yourself obsessed with reveal about what you are worshipping?

Because, worship is a life lived in response to what we value most. And what we value most, we will become obsessed with and leverage our lives towards in a way that results in us becoming like the object that we value most.

Because, as we have discovered, because we are wired for worship, we will become what we worship.