Even if there is a God why do we Worship?

Copyright © 2008 by Odell Sneeden Hathaway, III

A friend told me about a question their child asked them, and I was so moved that I wrote the following answer.

Your mother told me of a question you asked her recently, and it has made me think and want to give you an answer. She said you asked, “Even if there is a God, why should we worship Him?” That is a truly great question, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

The first thing that comes to mind is what is meant by worship. I know that church worship is normally what people think of — and for many, it is what’s important — but for others it’s too limiting and can sometimes try to trap God rather than worship Him. It’s like saying to God, “We’ll do all this for You, but You must be the way we say.”

I’m not saying there’s nothing to be gained in church worship, but one has to be careful and stay connected to something deeper.

To me, worship has a very simple meaning — Love. The two words are interchangeable. I worship my wife; I love my wife. Some might say worship implies something more than love, but I don’t believe there is anything more than love.

I know someone with a very deep belief in God. He’s told me many times, and I truly believe him when he says that Chuck Mangione is God. This person thinks of himself as an atheist, but he can see in one place the presence of God and is smart enough to recognize it — and worship it. He may be joking, but to me there’s something very mystical in that.

I think the real question you’re asking is, “Why should I love God — in any form?” That’s a much harder question to answer, especially for someone like you, whom God has been so cruel to. I understand that cruelty; God has been cruel to me too — and yet, I still love Him.

Why do I love God? I can’t really tell you, just as I’m certain you can’t tell me why you love your parents. If you can give me a reason, ask yourself if you’d stop loving them if that reason ended. If the answer is yes, then you never truly loved them in the first place. Love doesn’t come from the mind — it comes from the heart. We love simply because we love, and that’s all there is to it.

But there are some practical reasons for loving God. The first and most important is that it makes life easier. I know that sounds strange, but it truly does. My childhood was nothing like yours, but it was pretty bad, and there were only two things that got me through it (without killing someone or myself):

1) God — believing that there was one being who could, when He wanted, make things better. Even if He didn’t, I knew He could.

2) Star Trek — and wanting to be like Mr. Spock. It’s strange, but more than church, Mr. Spock taught me how to worship God, because he taught me I could take control of my own mind and emotions. Despite my problems, I could learn to meditate and control my thoughts. From this, I learned that I was something more than my mind or emotions. I started meditating at 13, and I’ve done it almost every day since.

Many say that meditation is a form of worship, and they’re right — but it’s also something more. Even if you don’t believe in God (or love Him), meditation can give you something very important: attention, focus, and self-control. Meditation is for the mind what lifting weights is for the body. I suggest reading the works of Eknath Easwaran.

Thank you for asking this question. I hope you find something in my answer that helps. It’s interesting because the idea of not worshiping has never occurred to me. Even when I’ve been angry with God (and yes, we all get angry with those we love — it’s part of how we know we love them), I’ve never stopped. My friend and teacher Weaver once told me that love means always having to say you’re sorry. It’s only when we care about someone that we need to say we’re sorry for hurting them — and only those we care about can truly hurt us.

One of my favorite musicals is Les Misérables. In it, there’s a wonderful line: “To love another person is to see the face of God.” Love is the most wonderful thing there is — and it is God in everything we love. That’s why we love it. So loving God Himself simply cuts out the middleman.

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