Your Motive of Worship

It should also be pointed out that Paul in the verse previous to mentioning the unknown altar pointed out a huge flaw in the Corinthians’ worship.
“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:” – Acts 17:22-23.
The Corinthians worshipped many things, and they worshipped the One they didn’t know. They were worshipping in pure ignorance. Therefore, if they worshipped God but did not know it, then what purpose/benefit does it serve to either God or themselves? It doesn’t and here is why. Worship is a state of the heart. When you know God and worship Him, it is a heart-to-heart connection between you and Him because since we know Him, all we want to do is honor, revere, and give Him the glory in any way we can imagine because we know Him and His heart. The Corinthians could never obtain that heart-to-heart connection which is true worship because the Corinthians had a different motive behind their worship. They worshipped because of religion. Paul even called them very religious in verse 22. See, ignorant worship has a motive devoid of the heart, and religion has nothing to do with the heart of God. Religion is man-made but God isn’t. Many people worship only because they are obliged to. People worship because they are at church or a service which is good, but the issue is that they never set apart time between them and God, and the only time they worship the Lord is when they are told to. Worship should be something you put every bit of your heart into. If you are worshipping because it is routine in a church service and you are not embracing it as a moment between you and God, then you are ignorantly worshipping God which is simply babbling words around. Worship without heart is powerless and meaningless. Worship should be a special time between you and God. So overall, don’t get the motive behind your worship wrong. It was never meant to be a ritualistic religious thing. Worship was God’s idea that we would be able to connect with Him heart-to-heart in things beyond just singing and praise but in all matters of life. For worship is finding any way to connect with Him. It can be as simple as spending time with Him or even just talking with Him. Find a way today to worship Him with your heart.