Image by Beverly & Pack via Flickr
I was cooking yesterday. The dogs were bouncing around me in the kitchen. They’re just looking to snag the tiniest scrap that falls to them. It was frustrating. We’ve had so many visitors and the twins shift so much attention away from them. They are behaving disobediently. They’re more selfish. They’re just looking for a little something for themselves. Sadly for them, the more they try the less they get.
I got a glimpse into how God might feel about us. I’m talking the Judeo-Christian God concept here. It might apply elsewhere, too.
God built us to worship. We will worship all sorts of things. Money, cars, celebrities, our kids, our spouses, our sport teams, our time, our TV shows, our careers, or we worship a God.
The dogs worship food and attention. They prance about my feet in the kitchen to get me to give them one morsel of food. They rub on me on the couch to get me to pet them. They are looking for something from me. They are not worshiping me. They are worshiping the thing they want to get from me. I’m frustrated with them. Anything I give them is given begrudgingly.
I was walking yesterday morning. A woman and her two dogs passed in front of me at an intersection. The dogs didn’t even look at me. They walked straight ahead. At the pace of the woman. Perfectly obedient and content.
When our dogs sit calmly at the edge of the kitchen – sometimes, but not often, they do – They are peaceful, content and obedient. When this happens, I give them all sort of treats once I’m done cooking and eating. I do it joyfully.
God wants us to love and worship Him for who He is. Not to get something from Him. When we sniff around His feet constantly looking for something from Him, it’s just annoying. He knows what we’re really after … something for us. When we follow Him, listen to Him and worship Him selflessly … we find much more joy, peace and prosperity in our lives. By the way, prosperity doesn’t have to mean money.
Interestingly, this is true of our other relationships, too. Try being a friend to someone just to get something from them. You’ll both be dissatisfied.
Try to earn your spouses love so you can feel accepted. They won’t respect you. And you’ll be that much more insecure. Be nice to the cool kids so they’ll like you. You’ll feel like a fraud … if they like you, they’ll be liking who you’re pretending to be, not who you are. Kiss your bosses ass so you can get that raise, get passed over for the guy who was confident to relate to her honestly.
Relationships are for giving, not for getting. Stop giving to get. Start giving to give. That’s worship is about. You’ll be more satisfied. So will your friends, spouse and your God.
Give of yourself. Enjoy being a gift to someone else. Merry Christmas.
