We miss valuable opportunities for worship in everyday life with the result that:
- We miss God’s purpose for our life
- We miss out on God’s friendship in our life
- We miss out on God’s joy in our life
But there is a way to increase our worship of God in everyday life and so fulfill our purpose, experience Gods friendship, and enjoy God’s joy. James highlights two ways we can increase worship in everyday life.
WE CAN WORSHIP GOD AS THE JUDGE (11-12)
- You act like a judge of the law (11): “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge
- Worship the only judge of the law (12): There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Every time you are tempted to put someone down, lift God up. That will increase your worship
Are there any other ways I miss opportunities to worship God in everyday life?
WE CAN WORSHIP GOD AS THE PLANNER (13-17)
- Plans without God are arrogant boasting (13-14, 16): Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes… As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
- Worship God by submitting plans to him (15): Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Every time you say “Let’s do this,” say, “Let’s submit this.” That will increase your worship.
Can you remember the last time you submitted your plans to God?
LIVING THE BIBLE
Worship God as Judge and Planner in everyday life and you will worship God a lot more.
PRAYING THE BIBLE
Judge and Planner, you are worthy of a lot more worship than we give you. We confess, that we often limit worship to church worship, family worship, or personal worship. Help us to worship you in everyday life too.
When we want to put others down, help us to want to put you up. When we want to make our plans, help us to ask for your plan. And so help us to worship you in everyday life.
Help us to realize this is a serious matter, not an optional extra. As verse seventeen puts it, “Whoever knows the right thing to do, and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” We now know worship is the right thing to do when judging or planning. So help us to worship you every day in everyday life. Amen.
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