If God loves us, he must command us to worship him
We don’t like it when people speak highly of themselves. No matter who it is, whether it’s the President of the United States, or the most skilled athlete, or the most eloquent speaker, or the most compelling writer, there’s something about people talking themselves up that many of us find off-putting and obnoxious — even if it’s true.
But even worse is when people not only talk themselves up and brag about how great they are, but when they demand that we pay attention to them and respect them and give them money and even love them for it. That would really get under our skin. Some of us have known people like this, or have heard someone do this. Even if it’s true — even if we should respect and love that person — hearing them command it usually accomplishes the opposite. Basically, if you want people to scorn you and despise you, demand that they love you, give you everything they own, and do everything you say, or else. That’ll accomplish that for you quickly.
So why, then, is that exactly what God does? He tells us that we must worship him (Matthew 4:8) and fear him (Deuteronomy 6:13) and love him (Deuteronomy 6:5) and praise and thank him and offer everything to him.
Of course he has every right to do so. He created us and this universe from nothing, so he has every right to impose requirements on his creations. He even loved us enough to send his Son to die for us, a sacrifice for which we should love and thank him.
But for us, it’s virtuous to do nice things for people and not care whether you get anything in return. Isn’t it the epitome of generosity to do good for someone even if they don’t thank you? Isn’t it noble to love someone even if they don’t love you in return? So if God is the epitome of righteousness, then shouldn’t he exemplify this virtue most of all? A user on a social media site I frequent, Quora, put it this way: “Why does God demand worship rather than ‘tipping one’s cap’ to the Creator and then celebrating our existence?”
So what is it? Does God want recognition? Is he an egomaniac? I’ve heard this suggested by people before. Many people are just as put off by God demanding worship and love as they would be by any human doing so. Even in the church, as much as I hear people talk about how much God deserves our worship, I rarely hear people talk about why God commands it. And that’s because I think we have a harder time explaining that part.
Why is that? I think our view of God, and the way we portray God, is off. God is not like us. He’s not a more powerful version of us. He’s not a wiser or older or even immaterial version of us. He’s not a greater or more virtuous version of us. Indeed, we would chafe at any human, no matter how great or powerful or virtuous, demanding love, worship, and adoration. But God is altogether different. He is, in fact, the greatest possible being that exists.
Here’s the thing about love: Love always desires the best for its object. The lover always wants the best for the beloved. If God is the greatest and best being in existence, then the best possible experience anyone could have is to experience God. The only way we can fully experience God is by fully understanding and acknowledging who God is. And if we really understand and acknowledge and experience who God is, then we will recognize that the only adequate and appropriate response is a degree of adoration that we would never dream of giving a mere human. That’s worship.
So if God truly loves us, and wants what’s best for us, then it is necessary that he tells us to worship him, because that’s the best possible experience we could have. To not command us to worship him would be to fail to direct us toward the best experience possible — the kind of experience which, if God truly loves us, he must desire for us. Indeed, he made us for it. If God did not command us to worship him, he would command us to love what is good but completely neglect to command us to love what is best. He would be leaving us out in the cold to find it out on our own. And in our sinful state, that would be a hopeless endeavor.
Worshiping God might not often seem like the best possible experience — who hasn’t been so distracted while trying to pray or sing or read the Bible that we’d rather be doing something else? — but God knows better than we do. That’s what we were made for: to connect with God. Unfortunately, the Fall has distorted the way we experience him and our sinful natures prevent us from fully appreciating and understanding who God is. We’ll understand and experience that fully in the age to come, but we should also pursue that experience now by worshiping God with all our hearts.
