“Beware of the Me-Monster,” says Comedian Brian Regan towards the end of his DVD called I Walked On The Moon. We are all very familiar with this Me-Monster of selfishness from encountering him throughout our lives.
I think one of the biggest areas I see the Me-Monster pop up is when I am driving or walking around and witnessing others driving. I feel like so many people are so concerned about where they need to go and they don’t even consider anyone else on the road or sidewalks. I can’t tell you how many times I have almost been hit by people flying around a turn or corner as I have been out walking my dog.
We also see this Me-Monster at the mall or supermarket as people seem completely unaware of others around them as they stop in the middle of the aisle to consult their shopping list. We see him at school as kids get pushed into lockers or walls in order to clear the path for some big shot football player or cheerleader. The Me-Monster is everywhere!
When I used to work at a hospital doing valet I used to get so frustrated at the Me-Monsters that used to show up all the time; especially with the handicap buses. We had one handicap bus pull in to drop off a patient that pulled into the driveway in just the right way that he completely blocked any other traffic from getting close to the entrance.
As I stood there in disbelief and disgust, criticizing this guy with my boss, God pointed something out to me. As we are always quick to point out the Me-Monster in the situations and people that we encounter everyday, we often forget that the Me-Monster is also in ourselves, just as much as others.
Paul understood this probably as best as anyone. Throughout the book of Romans, Paul makes reference after reference about sinning and turning our backs on God, which I think at its roots, is selfishness. Sinning against God is when we tell Him, “It’s about me right now. I’m not going to follow your Word, I’m going to do it my way. I am going to think and do what I want.” When we sin against others, we are also only thinking of ourselves and disregarding their feelings or well being.
Think of Edmund’s actions in C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Edmund ignores the warnings of the others about the White Witch, who represents evil and Satan. He instead decides to go to the palace of The White Witch and attempt to get his brother and sisters to go with him because he wants to be King. He wants more Turkish Delight. He wants his brother Peter to be his slave. He only cares about himself.
What I would like to focus on tonight is how we can sometimes be the biggest obstacle towards worship. Rather than start off our series talking about what worship is, I wanted to tackle what it isn’t. When it comes to the issue of worship, even though this following video is exaggerated, I think it is really the foundation on how we approach worship.
***It’s All About Me Video***
Again, this is exaggerated so please don’t take it personally, but I think this kind of attitude really happens a lot more than we may think. Every church today faces this on a regular basis but it’s also a problem that has been around since this thing called church began. The letters in the Bible, written to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, as well as the letter that James wrote, all at one point or another, address this issue of selfishness during times of worship together as a church.
For our time here, I want to look at the letter that Paul wrote to the Roman church. Please grab your Bibles and open them to Romans 12:1-5.
***Read Romans 12:1-5***
I love the way this passage starts off because it picks up exactly where we left off last week when we talked about serving one another and serving God. Paul starts off by saying, “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies [which this word in Greek means the whole self and can mean slave] to God [why?] because of all he has done for you.” And obviously this refers to Christ’s death and resurrection and the restored relationship that we can have with God. So we should give out of love and selflessness because of the way we have been blessed. Maybe another way to say it that you guys have probably heard before is God blesses us so that we can bless others.
So looking forward to answer our question of what worship isn’t, within this passage, I think there are three specific Me-Monsters, or selfish situations, during times of worship that Paul speaks towards.
The first Me-Monster Paul confronts approaching worship with the first priority of getting for ourselves instead of to give to God and others. We all have done this at one time or another. We come to get moved by the sermon, to get touched by the music, to get love and help from people around us. We come to get renewed, refreshed or help with our problems. So often, once we leave, our first question of whether or not it was a waste of time or not concerns, “What did I get out of it.”
This is also what we do when we are “shopping” for a church with our families. We want to find a place that leaves us on a spiritual high when we leave or that has the best programs, best music, or best preacher. We go into a place keeping an eye out for what we will get out of it.
Now, getting filled up, refreshed, or moved by elements within a worship service is important, but it should not be our primary motivation or concern. Instead we should be coming to worship the way Paul urges the Roman church to come, “as a living and holy sacrifice.” “This,” Paul says, “is truly the way to worship him.” We should be coming to church, laying aside our desires, wants, and needs for the sake of giving to God, first and foremost, and then giving to others.
Jesus also communicated this when he spoke to the Pharisees about the greatest commandments in Matthew 22. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I think what is really interesting about this, is that even though we so often give in to this Me-Monster and come to church to get, we so often leave unsatisfied. We leave not getting what we came for. But I think what would happen if we all came to church as a sacrifice to God and to one another every Sunday, is that we would find ourselves leaving satisfied more and more because someone gave to us what we needed.
The perfect example of this idea is the good ol’ church potluck. If only four or five people came giving, in essence, everyone would leave still hungry. If everyone one came giving then there would be more than enough food and everyone would leave satisfied.
The second Me-Monster Paul confronts, deals with the issue that worship is about the things in the service instead of our attitudes. When it comes to worship there are a lot of things that are used to help us worship God. We have liturgy, prayer, preachers, lay readers, and music of varied styles. We have pulpits, PowerPoint, art, bulletins and more. These things are all a great help to worship, but they are just that, things! When we can’t worship God because of one of them being used during a service or not being used, at that point they are not just things, but instead an idol that we have placed before God.
In verse 2, Paul tells the Romans to not “copy the behavior and customs of this world.” What Paul is talking about here has to do with all of the things that were used in worship to other gods. There were idols, statues, rituals, special prayers and all sorts of other things that became, well, religious. When people would worship, everything became about doing these things and praying to these things instead of just having a relationship with God which is what He really wants.
Harold M. Best, in his book Unceasing Worship, talks about this issue when it comes to music,
Let’s say that I deeply love Jesus but I detest the music-it is not “my music.”…Where is God in all of this? If he is in the music, I will never find him, because to me there is no substance or evidence, even though others are seemingly finding him there. Do I wait for the right kind of music so that my faith becomes effectual? Do I look for another church, hoping that my faith will be fed and my felt needs met? Or do I turn from the music to the Lord, knowing that faith remains faith and the music is merely music and not a sacramental substance that mediates between God and me?
This can be rather difficult when it comes to church. Personally, I have really struggled with this concept when it comes to the style of music music. I’m sure others here have had the same struggle. Whatever the issue is for each person here, the fact remains that worship is not about the things around us or being used in the service, but it is about our attitudes and minds being focused on Christ.
The third and final Me-Monster that Paul confronts emphasizes the first two by adding an exclamation point. That is the notion that worship is about what I like or desire but it’s about unity. In verses 3-5, Paul warns the Romans to not “think you are better than you really are” and emphasizes that we, who make up the church, are all different.
Think about all the people who come to church or even just those in this room right now. We are all different! We all have different desires and needs to be served. We all have different things and styles that we enjoy most. And those things are great and wonderful! But before any of that we are Christians, we are family. Worship is not about me but about unity within this family. When we come together for worship we need to not limit things to the way we want them but instead think of our bothers and sisters next to us. When we can do that, we will create a beautiful piece of art, using mediums of all different kinds that will give us a glimpse of heaven here in our midst.
“Beware of the Me-Monster.” Worship is not about getting but instead giving. It is not about the things around us but instead our attitudes. And it is not about me but instead about unity. Above all that, need we even say it, it is about Christ! The ultimate sacrifice that we may live; the perfect attitude that we may try and equal; and the most beautiful act of unity and love for the people around Him.
