Most of us have felt the feeling when\u00a0we are tired, concerned, or stressed that,\u00a0while we may be present \u201cphysically,\u201d\u00a0we are not there mentally. I suspect most\u00a0of us have even said something in the\u00a0past like: \u201cI\u2019m here physically, but not\u00a0mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what happens when this\u00a0attitude infects our worship? How many\u00a0times have Christians entered an auditorium\u00a0for worship, only to check their\u00a0brains at the door? It is no secret that\u00a0individuals today can sing and take part\u00a0in the Lord\u2019s Supper, but be mentally\u00a0absent from worshipping God.<\/p>\n
Internally\u00a0we may be focusing on someone\u2019s new\u00a0hairstyle, the preacher\u2019s clothes, where\u00a0to eat lunch, or an upcoming ball game.\u00a0Yes, we are physically in worship, but our\u00a0attitudes demonstrate that we never\u00a0acknowledge being in the presence of\u00a0Jehovah God. Sadly, there are occasions\u00a0when people are worried about critiquing\u00a0the preacher, the roast in the crock-pot,\u00a0passing notes, whispering, personal\u00a0grooming, playing with children, etc., and\u00a0thus, they never mentally engage for worship.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what I intend on teaching my\u00a0children about mentally engaging for\u00a0worship.<\/strong><\/p>\n The mainstream media has done an\u00a0incredible job of painting Christians with\u00a0a broad-stroke as ignorant individuals.\u00a0Hollywood has reconfirmed this label by\u00a0frequently showing Christians as weak-minded\u00a0and foolish people who don\u2019t\u00a0have enough strength to cope with life on\u00a0their own.<\/p>\n Sadly, this label is occasionally\u00a0well warranted. There are times in\u00a0which Christians don\u2019t use their God-given\u00a0brains\u2014and they never truly\u00a0engage their minds during worship. Do\u00a0not give into this temptation\u2014no matter\u00a0how much is going on in your life. Take a\u00a0few moments to clear your thoughts and\u00a0remind yourself why you are doing what\u00a0you are doing and Who the ultimate\u00a0audience is for our worship.<\/p>\n Consider one example in which the\u00a0Lord observed: \u201cInasmuch as these people\u00a0draw near with their mouths and\u00a0honor Me with their lips, but have\u00a0removed their hearts far from Me, and\u00a0their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men \u2026\u201d (Isaiah 29:13).\u00a0We know from the text that the people\u00a0had offered their sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11ff),\u00a0but their attitude was one of just going\u00a0through the motions. Jesus used this very\u00a0passage to rebuke the Pharisees:\u00a0\u201cHypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy\u00a0about you, saying: \u2018These people draw\u00a0near to Me with their mouth, And honor\u00a0Me with their lips, But their heart is far\u00a0from Me. And in vain they worship Me,\u00a0teaching as doctrines the commandments\u00a0of men\u2019\u201d (Matthew 15:7-9). These\u00a0were people who were going through the\u00a0motions, but their hearts were not in it.<\/p>\n On another occasion, Jesus again commented\u00a0on their attitude, rebuking the\u00a0Pharisees saying: \u201cWoe to you, scribes\u00a0and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay\u00a0tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and\u00a0have neglected the weightier matters of\u00a0the law: justice and mercy and faith.\u00a0These you ought to have done, without\u00a0leaving the others undone\u201d (Matthew\u00a023:23). The Pharisees were correctly\u00a0observing some of the small details of\u00a0worship, but they completely neglected\u00a0why they were doing what they were\u00a0doing. Their hearts (and minds) were in the wrong place. They weren\u2019t mentally\u00a0engaged in what they were doing.<\/p>\n Never forget that the fear of the Lord is\u00a0the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10;\u00a0Proverbs 1:7). In Paul\u2019s admonitions to\u00a0Timothy he told him, \u201cStudy to show thyself\u00a0approved unto God, a workman that\u00a0needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing\u00a0the word of truth\u201d (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). God has not called us to be\u00a0unintelligent. Rather, He wants us to\u00a0study and be able to defend His Word. In\u00a01 Thessalonians 5:21, we are commanded\u00a0to \u201cTest all things; hold fast what is good.\u201d\u00a0In James 1:5 we read, \u201cIf any of you lacks\u00a0wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to\u00a0all liberally and without reproach, and it\u00a0will be given to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Do these admonitions\u00a0sound like crutches for weak-minded\u00a0people? We must actively engage\u00a0our rationall, intelligent minds in worshipping\u00a0our Creator. Christianity is a religion\u00a0based on evidence and intelligence.\u00a0Don\u2019t check your brain at the coat\u00a0rack!<\/p>\n By Brad Harrub, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Brad Harrub is the author of \u201cConvicted: A Scientist Examines the Evidence for Creation<\/a>\u201d and \u201cHeart of the Matter<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and co-author of \u201cEngage: Rethinking How We Walk Down the Aisle<\/a>\u201c<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most of us have felt the feeling when\u00a0we are tired, concerned, or stressed that,\u00a0while we may be present \u201cphysically,\u201d\u00a0we are not there mentally. I suspect most\u00a0of us have even said something in the\u00a0past like: \u201cI\u2019m here physically, but not\u00a0mentally.\u201d But what happens when this\u00a0attitude infects our worship? How many\u00a0times have Christians entered an auditorium\u00a0for worship, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59,32,66],"tags":[145,49,236,352,123],"class_list":["post-1539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","category-church","category-think-excerpts","tag-brad","tag-church","tag-heart-of-the-matter","tag-think","tag-worship","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n