This past weekend, I walked into a Walmart in Florence, Alabama and came face-to-face with an advertisement that stopped me on my trajectory to the pharmacy department.
The ad was bright, bold, large enough that you couldn’t miss the wording, which caught my eye immediately.
Here’s what it read:
Worship
Yourself!
Sigh.
Never in a million years did I expect to see this…
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Worship:
Google search from Oxford Dictionary – To ascribe value and worth to something, and to proclaim honor and adoration above all other; to show reverence as to a deity –
Word Book dictionary – to love unquestioningly and uncritically.
To show “worth-ship.” The state or condition of being “worthy.”
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I’m reminded of what Paul told the Romans in Chapter 1:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator–who is forever praised. (18-21, 25)
Now then…
I’m one of the first to teach the importance of walking out our God-given identity through Christ-Jesus.
I recognize the need we have as followers of Jesus to understand this magnificent truth and how it transfers to living boldly and confidently, while we are in the world, just not of it.
I regularly declare that all human-kind is created in the image of the invisible God, and that alone gives us intrinsic value and worth.
That simple truth demands our attention in a world where it is easy to dismiss others, or cause us to think less of individual lives (from pre-born infant to the infirm and elderly).
(created in the image of God)
However, when we acknowledge any kind of call to worship self, we cross a line that should never be crossed.
When the notion of worshipping ourselves becomes acceptable, pride, conceit and selfish ambition will rule our every relationship.
To live in a world where we are competing to be like “god,” sets us up for a downfall…
…and, according to Romans 1:18, invites God’s wrath.
We must remember that we are the created, not THE CREATOR –
We can not take a breath, but God allows…
Move arms or legs, but that He nods His permission…
…Our internal organs will not work, unless He chooses…
While, we are of great value to Him because of His great love…
While accepted because of the Beloved…
We are NOT, nor will we ever be, WORTHY OF WORSHIP.
Jesus Followers….
We must kindly rise up against these anti-biblical lies and speak truth as we have opportunity to do so.