Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
Psalm 98:4

Worship is one of those things that Christians really get heated over. It can be such a personal thing...it is a place of vulnerability and humility; yet, it can be very public as well. People can get very offended if they feel that someone is not worshipping according to what they feel comfortable with. It happens all the time. It is unfortunate. Go ahead, ask them why they feel the way they do. Ask them to show you in the Bible where it says that they get to tell you how to worship God. Often, you will get the "God is a God of order" answer.(I Cor. 14:33) Really? Come on.

Being uncomfortable with the way a brother or sister is worshipping God is not necessarily commensurate with a lack of order. Common sense should be the arbiter on these things.

I find it deplorable that there are people in churches who are actually watching to see how others worship...just in case they worship outside of the lines, I imagine. What do you think King David would have said about it? How about Jesus? It's worth a look.

Well, anyone who has ever been to a spanish-speaking Christian church service knows what exuberant worship looks like. Just today, we attended such a service and we were blown away by the genuine, heart-felt seeking of God's presence. I mean, they really worship. Not only that, but they press in for as long as it takes. Some people were dancing, some people were lifting their hands, some people were quietly standing, some people were singing, some people were clapping and some were just crying out to God...all in total freedom.

The one thing that they all had in common was that they were alone with God...each one of them. Even though they were all in the same building, worshipping together, they were totally focused on recognizing and magnifying the God of the universe, instead of trying to make sure that everyone else was worshipping according to their comfort levels. We all could learn something from Latin American congregations.

There are dozens of Biblical words in Hebrew for worship. Each word means something different and, ultimately, is a different facet of the whole. Zamar is one such word. It means instrumental worship music, such as strings. The word Yadah is another one. It means to lift one's hands. The list goes on and on.

Look, we don't really have the right to pick a few of them as being valid and ignore the rest. But we Christians have a tendancy to do that, don't we? So, if you find yourself being offended by someone's worship, before you get all bristly and decide that you are the chief of the worship police, ask yourself why you are going to stop them. Who, at that moment, are you serving? God? Your own capacity for offense? True, there are times when it is appropriate to intervene. Those times will be obvious...no, seriously, they will. Other than that, I don't really think we should be coming between God and another one of his children...do you?