We Have a Need to Worship

In the Old Testament, God’s Chosen People often got in trouble with the Lord. The problem wasn’t that they neglected worshipping God, but that they worshipped other gods at the same time.

Quite often the ancient Israelites were quick to adopt the religious practices of neighboring countries. They would carve idols and engage in rituals to serve these foreign gods. It seems the people were following all of their religious impulses. They were more than willing to try anything that might put them in closer contact with the divine, spiritual world.

However, the One True God does not want people to waste time worshipping things that are not divine. In Scripture, God often uses the allegory of marriage to describe His relationship with His people. When people worship false gods, it’s considered to be adultery.

Nowadays, we have the exact opposite problem: we don’t worship anything. We ignore all of our religious impulses. Our modern culture doesn’t do anything to put ourselves in closer contact with the divine, spiritual world. We may not overtly be committing spiritual adultery, but it certainly is a loveless marriage.

Our present-day secular society ignores our instinctive inner desire to be in contact with the eternal world. We’ve become so earthly, so materialistic, so carnal, that we’ve choked off the most important aspect of our very being: our soul, our spirit, our unique inner non-material self.

The people shaping our secular mindset are quick to explain that human religious impulses are merely unnecessary vestiges of evolution. The primary assumption of these folks is that there is no such thing as a spiritual dimension to reality (an unproven and, and if you ask me, wildly incorrect assumption). Therefore, their only conclusion is that all spiritual desires are mistaken.

However, centuries ago St. Augustine had it right when he said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in God.” The reason is simple. We were created by God, and He made us with a built-in desire to be in a relationship with Him. If we ignore this desire, as our modern culture has done, we will be restless. Now, really, can anyone look at our present society and say that, in general, people are peaceful and serene? Of course not. The dominant traits of our modern world are anxiety and frustration.

Despite what the so-called experts say, let’s look at some facts. Human beings experience tiredness and have a desire to rest. And guess what? We have sleep to satisfy that desire.

People get thirsty and have a desire to quench that thirst. What do you know? There is water.

We feel hungry and have a desire to alleviate the gnawing sensation in our stomachs. Well, lookee here, there’s food.

We have sexual desires, and there is the physical love of the marriage union.

All of the primary desires we experience have something real that will satisfy them. But when it comes to our desire to be in touch with the spiritual, eternal world, we are told it’s just a mirage. It’s just a silly desire, which has no real fulfillment. Hmm, does that make any sense? The only thing that seems silly here, is the secular point of view.

We have an instinctive desire to be in touch with the divine Spirit. We want to know how we came into existence, what our purpose is on this earth, and where we’re going after we die. These are not silly questions nor useless longings. The Lord God created us, and He wants us to seek Him.

So, seek the Lord. It’s not a foolish whim. He made us to be in a loving relationship with Him. But don’t be like the ancient Israelites and worship every false deity that comes down the pike. There is only one God, and He is our Heavenly Father.