Worship Vision, Part 4

Our Worship Will Be…Excellent

When we offer to God a sacrifice of praise, we must be sure that we are offering our best.

The foundations of creativity

God is the only truly creative being. He took NOTHING and made something – a term known as “ex nihilo” (literally, “from nothing”). When we create music, art, literature, etc., we make something from something. It is necessary for us to acknowledge the source of our creativity – God Almighty.

Being creative, however, connects us to God. When we create, we are imitating God’s original handiwork. Being made in His image means that we share this desire to create. When I watch my 2-year-old daughter color a picture, play with Playdough, or use Lego blocks, I’m reminded of the desire to create, even at an early age. We don’t need to be taught to create – God has woven it into our nature!

“Good” vs. “Not Good”

In Genesis 1 and 2, we see God deeming his creation “Good” (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), but he also deems Adam’s lack of a helper as “Not Good” (Gen 2:18). God was and is the first decider of what is pleasing and acceptable.

The sons of Adam, Cain and Abel, bring their offerings before the Lord. In Genesis 4, Moses records that God looked with favor upon Abel’s sacrifice, while Cain’s was not looked upon with favor. Many volumes have been written about WHY Cain’s sacrifice was not favorable – I don’t intend to expound upon it. Instead, I want to demonstrate that God judges our sacrifices both according to His expectations and our motivations when we offer our sacrifices.

Excellence vs. Perfection

When we discuss “Excellence”, it is easy to fall into a dangerous path of perfectionism. There is a distinct difference between the two.

In the book of Romans, we learn that God has set a Divine expectation – perfection. Because sin is contrary to God’s nature, He cannot tolerate a single sin! To be perfect, one must never sin. Without the gift of grace, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, NO ONE would receive the gift of Eternal Life. God, in his mercy, sent his Son to redeem mankind – that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life.

This has an important ramification on arguments for perfection. No one can claim to be perfect – and this transfers even to issues of creative expression. We can strive to be creative in an excellent manner, but we should never deceive ourselves that we can achieve or ever have achieved perfection. It is an empty pursuit. Instead, we must pursue excellence. When we have given of our best, God is both pleased and glorified!