Why do we have to worship God?

[Snovi11]

Hi All,

Apologies if this has been answered somewhere in the forum (and i couldn't find it) but my friend the other day asked me the question of:

If we have free will why does God request and command worship, isn't that a contradiction? And what kind of God is he if he constantly demands to be praised etc?

Now i know he is getting this completely wrong but was curious as to what you guys or the Orthodox way is to answer this question?

I posted this on another forum and didn't get much answers so thought i would try my luck here.

It may be a silly question so no one is bothered to take the time to answer haha

All answers are appreciated.

Nik

 

[Shiranui117]

God doesn't demand to be worshipped because He gets anything out of it; He is already complete and perfect in and of Himself. Rather, He tells us to worship Him, that we may have a focal point to aim for in this confusing world; we would be lost without Him, and He forms a steady and immovable target for us to aim for. Whenever we sin (literally in Greek, hamartia, or missing the mark), we are trying to aim, but miss God.

 

[~Anastasia~]

It seems to me that as we begin to understand God (as far as human beings are able) and we start to appreciate what He has done for us, and the fact that we in no way deserve His outpouring of love and mercy - the very natural reaction is to worship Him.

One thing I love about reading the beautiful prayers of our Church in which the worship of God is so evident, is that those prayers show me different aspects of God and help me focus on His attributes, so that I am ever growing in my adoration and devotion to Him. I think worship is for our benefit - not that God needs it, but as we do so we find Him ever more worthy, and our faith is increased.

That's my take on it anyway.

 

[ArmyMatt]

If we have free will why does God request and command worship, isn't that a contradiction?

well, God requesting/commanding worship has nothing to do with free will, since He never forces man to follow His commands or requests. so there is no contradiction.

And what kind of God is he if he constantly demands to be praised etc?

He doesn't demand it for Himself because He has no needs. He commands it for us for our sake because that is what helps us come into communion with Him.

hope this helps and welcome to TAW!

 

[Wryetui]

Hello! Well, I have to say that when it comes to God you can't think anything bad. Not because He will get upset because you don't obey Him, but because you don't have any reason to not listen to Him, to not listen perfection Itself and love Itself. What I want to tell you is that we humans think differently, like "look at that God, always wanting worship, why do I have to do it?!" and we don't realize that praise to Him has nothing to do with selfishness or with other bad and decayed human feelings. Worship for God is the most natural and perfect thing we humans can do, and we don't have to look at him with bad feelings for it

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

What is the point of life? What is the reason we get up in the morning? To eat, go the bathroom, be entertained, eat again, go the bathroom, talk to people, be entertained, and go to bed? What's the purpose of life? Why are we here?

What is the point of life---FINDING TRUTH. Plato sought truth and beauty. The great philosophers of the Earth be it Siddhartha Gautama, Aristotle, Pontius Pilate asking Jesus "what is truth?" anyone on Earth at SOME point wonders if he or she can find truth and beauty.

God is the SOURCE. He is that mystical Dao that Lao Tzu sought after. He is that unknown God worshipped in Athens long ago. He is that God that the idolaters couldn't see as they chose the created over the Creator. God made us all, breathed life into us all, and gave humanity the chance for theosis. It is man who chose otherwise....

As we walk through our lives, we feel a longing for Truth and Beauty. We seek it in so many misguided ways be it different gurus like Oprah or Deepock Choprah, or in physical exercises like Yoga or becoming gym rats. We seek it in our looks and seek to attract and allure. We try to find beauty through sex and physical love. We seek it in drugs or alcohol, in people with codependency, in becoming power-hungry leaders like a principal, superintendent, legislator, governor, or congressman. We seek it in art. We seek it in entertainment. We're desperate to find Truth and Beauty.

Those are all wastes of time. You won't find Truth in those places. Truth and Beauty resides in God Himself. To worship is to acknowledge the Truth and Beauty, the timeless Gospel of Christ. In worship we LEARN.

We LEARN during worship through the readings and sermon

We ARE SUPERNATURALLY BLESSED during worship with all the blessings from the priest and ultimately with the Holy Eucharist!

We LEARN TO LOVE in our hearing of the Gospel and in seeing how the saint of the particular feast day martyred himself or preached Christ.

We learn DISCIPLINE by going to worship.

We REPLACE SLOTH in worship.

We FIND LIKE-MINDED lovers of God at worship!

We BECOME INSPIRED at liturgy.


The blessings are intellectual, physical, supernatural, and mental at worship. God gives us liturgy to acknowledge Him as the Source of all Good, to see REAL Truth and Beauty rather than seek it in sex, drugs, rock 'n roll or the guru of the week. He gives us liturgy to show us what heaven is like!

HEAVEN IS LIKE THE DIVINE LITURGY!

It is important to see the liturgy as an encounter with the divine, not some mandatory sentence wherein an arrogant God wants fans adoring him. It is prescriptive, salvific, for our OWN GOOD!

If God is the source of all Truth and Beauty, all honor, all love, all joy, all righteousness, then why on Earth would He NOT command us to encounter that on Sunday!

If we cease to see liturgical worship as a fanfest for God to give autographs and get lauded like a superstar among fans and instead replace that understanding with the reality that God loves us, knows we're sick and need to seek the doctor at his clinic on Sunday, and that this is for us as much as it is for His honor and praise, that liturgy is a direct encounter with eternal love, then the OP has been answered.

 

[nutroll]

This question always strikes me as very strange. Why do I have to kiss my wife, or remember our anniversary in some way, or take out the trash, or cook dinner, or tell her that she looks beautiful? Why do I have to change my sons' diapers, or read them bedtime stories or play with them? Love is an action, not a feeling. If we love God, we will do the things that express this love. This can be expressing thanks, praising God, serving him, our serving those He loves. God, for His part, expresses His love by giving Himself to us even more completely and even serving us in return. I think what underlies this question is the ungrateful state of our souls that we wonder why we should do anything for someone who has given us nothing. But this is like the man who has a wife that does everything around the house and with the children, but has no appreciation for all the work she does.

 

[LizaMarie]

We are hard-wired for fellowship with God. If you don't worship God, you will end up worshiping yourself-making yourself God.
Think about it. Non believers always make something else their God. Money, sex, drugs, fame, material things, created beings, something-THEMSELVES. and look at the mess the world is in because of it.
As the others said better than I cab above , it is for our benefit.
To keep us from the sin of pride and to keep us focused on him, we put Him first. God needs nothing from us.

 

[Snovi11]

Thanks guys!!

Your answers and help is greatly appreciated.

In Christ,

Nik