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For those of us who have been in the church for many years, the word “worship” has become synonymous with the music part of a service. I have caught myself doing that as well; it’s an easy trap to fall into. We talk about “worship music” and seem to imply that the only way we worship God is by singing songs. But is that really the only way? What about people who don’t like singing, are they excluded from worshipping God?

To worship means to express reverence or adoration for a deity. For Christians, this means showing reverence or adoration toward the one true God of the Bible. How did our “Christian” culture get so twisted as to believe that only singing songs is considered worship?

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” The Greek word used here for “worship” is latreia, which means both worship and service. We are serving God as we worship Him.

Did you see in the above verse how we are to worship God? I didn’t see anywhere in there that worship is *only* singing songs on Sunday morning from a particular genre of music. It says to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” True worship is when we sacrifice ourselves to God. (Learn more about the word “sacrifice” here.) That doesn’t mean we kill ourselves, but rather that we give up our own desires to God and do what He desires for our lives. We are to be living sacrifices who follow the living God. Our entire lives should be a witness to God’s glory and how He is working in our lives.

The band Casting Crowns has a song called “Lifesong,” and the chorus goes like this:

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

This is what worship is. Everything we say and everything we do should show our reverence and adoration for God. Yes singing songs on a Sunday morning can be a part of that, but it is truly so much more! We need to worship God with our whole lives, with everything we do and say. Our lives need to be living sacrifices to God, to show our true worship to Him.