“It’s not about you.” This is the opening line to the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life. It is a helpful reminder for a culture that is steeped in concern for the self. Often the best thing we can do is realize that life is not about us. This is especially true in how we approach worship.

In Deuteronomy 12, Moses gave clear instructions to Israel for when they would enter they land. They were to “destroy completely all the places on the high mountains…where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods” (v. 2). In the ancient world, most people believed gods were local. So, when you moved into a new area, you would want to worship the gods of that region. Not so for Israel. They were to destroy the Canaanite worship sites. Canaanite worship involved idolatry, cultist prostitution, and even child sacrifice (v. 31).

Instead, Moses outlined a profound theology of worship for Israel. Israel needed to realize that worship was not about them. God is the object of worship. We are not to worship Him any way we want but need to follow His direction (v. 8). This is a good reminder for us today. At times, we think of worship as a tool to attract people to church. But as one theologian reminds us, “To use Christian worship for any purpose other than the glorification of God is to abuse it.” Worship of God is an end in itself, not a means to some other goal we might have.

Just as Israel’s worship was counter-cultural, the same is true for us today. Paul called the church to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1–2).

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