Written by David Hanson
There's an elephant in the room, and it isn't leaving until it is addressed. On Sunday, I posted on Instagram about this elephant, and I was shocked about the post's attention. It has resonated with more people than I realized. The expression "The elephant in the room" refers to a significant problem or controversial issue that is obviously present but avoided as a subject for discussion because it is more comfortable to do so. The issue is worship – particularly who gets to determine how we worship. Many churches have allowed the government to dictate how, when, and where they worship for two years. Now that things have lifted, it's life as usual now, right? That would be the easy and comfortable thing to do. But whether you like it or not, the elephant is still in the room in many churches, and it still needs to be dealt with. The elephant cannot be adequately addressed unless we understand how seriously God takes worship. Sadly, there is a lack of concern in many churches when it comes to how God has prescribed worship. The question, "How does God want us to worship Him?" is replaced with "What do the people want?". Some churches are more concerned about entertaining the goats, catering to their neighbours, advancing a particular agenda that is favourable to the masses than about advancing the kingdom, feeding the sheep, and obeying God's methods of worship. Many are okay with setting up a new way of worship. They make decisions based on fear, popular vote, and pragmatism. But how we worship matters! God rejected Cain's offering not simply because Cain's heart was not right but because his offering was not according to what was prescribed. He had set the pattern of blood sacrifice in Genesis 3, but Cain offers a bloodless one. God not only rejected Nadab and Abihu's offering of a foreign incense but also took their lives. God not only rejected the worship from the priests during Malachi's day but desired for them to stop completely. He says, "Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!" (Malachi 1:10). God would rather have no worship than to be worshipped in a way he has not prescribed. That's how seriously God takes worship. Shouldn't we take it seriously as well? One Bible story that's been brought to my mind recently is the story of King David bringing the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:1-15). It's the episode with Uzzah that I have in mind. But the onus lays on David, who chose to go against what God had already clearly instructed. The thing about this story is that David is not antagonistic or apathetic towards God. He loved the Lord and desired to do good. He cared for his people and wanted them to worship God. Yet, good intentions do not cause God to overlook violations of his instructions. The story begins when David hears about the Ark of the Covenant (the symbol of God's presence) being in Baele-Judah. He gathers some men and heads down to retrieve the Ark. God's instructions are clear on how the Ark is to be transported. It was to be carried by Levites of the family of Kohath (Exodus 25:12-15; Numbers 4:15). Yet David takes a pragmatic approach and puts it on a cart. This decision comes as a failure to recognize what God's instructions are. A cart is a practical and proficient tool, much like how zoom was practical. This vehicle would have made things easier for everyone. However, whether something is right is not determined by whether it works, is easier, more comfortable or even more popular. What makes something right is whether God has commanded it. It's really just that simple. Yet, suppose we aren't reading and studying God's Word, learning what God instructs regarding worship. In that case, we will act similarly to David in this story. We may have good intentions, but we will ignorantly be disobeying God. God doesn't overlook our ignorance. God expects us to know His Word and obey it. David's pragmatic approach leads to a deadly consequence. As they venture out on their way back, the ox stumbles, the cart jerks, and Uzzah reaches out his hand to protect the Ark from falling. At that moment, Uzzah, a priest who should have known better, drops dead. Ignorance of God's law is no excuse. God taking someone's life is drastic. And though we want to believe that such things only happened under the Old Covenant, that simply isn't true. 1 Corinthians 11 stands as evidence of that. Some of the people in the Corinthian church who took the Lord's Supper in a manner that God had not prescribed died (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). 1 John also speaks of a sin that leads to death (. I wonder whether we would have a greater concern for how we worship God if God killed Christian leaders who violate His instructions regarding worship? Maybe that's a morbid thought. But what will it take for us to come back to the awareness of how serious worshipping God the right way is? When Uzzah dies, David is angry and gripped by fear. He was angry undoubtedly because he thought he was doing the right thing and that his good intentions were enough. But God cares about both the intentions of the heart and the actions of a person. And though his intentions were good, his actions directly violated God's instructions. Uzzah's death fills David with fear, a reasonable fear, the fear of the Lord. He stops what he's doing, drops off the Ark at the nearest spot, and returns home. When he returns again to retrieve the Ark, he does so according to God's instructions. Things may look normal today, and we may be convinced that what we have done over the last two years was acceptable. There's been activity, people have enjoyed a new way of doing things, and people may have been joyful. But even this is no measure of whether something is acceptable to God. Before Uzzah's death, there was activity and celebration. Yet, none of this pleased the Lord because it was not what he had prescribed. But these were just temporary measures, right? Well, how quick would a trip from Baale-Judah to Jerusalem be? Far less than two years! How brief would Uzzah's touch have been? Far less than the trip to Jerusalem. The truth is, whether something is temporary or prolonged does not justify a disobedient act. I can hear it now. "Yes, but we were simply following Romans 13 and obeying our leaders". Well, this story blows that out of the water as well. David was a governing authority that permitted wrong behaviour, but God did not overlook it. God is the one who dictates how we worship...no one else. The question begs to be asked: Has God clearly communicated how we should worship? The answer is yes. But you must study your Bible to find out what He has to say. So there's an elephant in the room. You can ignore it, or you can confront it. The choice is yours. If you ignore it and try to go on as if nothing happened, I fear a couple of things will happen. First, you will continue to justify how you responded and consequently lock yourself into the same response next time it happens. Suppose your belief is that someone besides God has the right to dictate how, when and where we worship, whether their intentions are good. What stops you from subjecting yourselves again to this philosophy in other areas of worship? Second, if you don't address the elephant in the room, you will neglect the conscience of those in your church that is convinced that Jesus alone dictates worship. Isn't their spiritual walk just as important as those who sided with you during the two years? So, where do we go from here? There needs to be open, honest, biblically informed discussion between church members and the leadership. We can't simply ignore the elephant. We need to talk about it, learn the truth together, and embrace the fact that Jesus is Lord of His church. Leaders need to repent, and members need to forgive. Until that happens, the elephant will stay there with his trunk waving in the air.
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AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
May 2022
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