Worship vs. Service

Many Christians put the emphasis of their lives on service for God, to the exclusion of worshiping Him. Others swing to the other extreme, and so stress the importance of worship, that service for the Lord is viewed as being of little or no consequence.

We must beware of lopsidedness, or of seeking to push one truth of Scripture to an extreme the Bible does not warrant. The believer must seek to maintain the truth of God in its proper perspective and correct balance. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ give the proper order of precedence. In His reply to Satan’s temptation, He said: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10). 

The Divine ideal is that our worship of the Lord will inspire us to serve, and that our service for Him will flow naturally from worship.

—Adapted from Worship: The Christian’s Highest Occupation by Alfred P. Gibbs