It’s been a long time since we did a word study here on “Connections.” I believe one is now in order. Here is the word for the day: worship.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote this: “A person
will worship something, have no doubt about it. That which dominates our
imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives and our
character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for
what we worship we are becoming.”
According to Dictionary.com (the Thesaurus part), worship (as a verb) means to honor or glorify. Some synonyms are admire,
adore, bow down to, celebrate, chant, deify, dote on, esteem, exalt,
extol, idolize, laud, love, magnify, offer prayers to, pay homage to,
praise, pray to, put on a pedestal, respect, revere, reverence,
sanctify, sing, sing praises to, venerate. In other words, it means not only a brief act of celebration, but also a constant state of adulation.
Emerson also wrote this: “A man is what he
thinks about all day long.” When Emerson wrote this, he didn’t just mean
men, of course. What we spend the biggest part of our time and money on is our most important priority. That is what we think about most.
God wants our every thought. He wants to be closer to us than our breath, part of our blood and bones and mind. He
wants us to dote on him, to respect, esteem, and revere him, to seek
his guidance in everything. He wants us to desire for our lives to
glorify him. That is worship.
*I borrowed the picture from this site: http://godwordistruth.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/what-kind-of-worship-god-desires-from-his-people/
