I got an early birthday present this year.  I was going to be away on my birthday, so my son thought it best to give me my present early – either that, or he wanted to get it out of his trunk to free up some space.  So what was it, you ask? … It was a new golf bag.  But not just any golf bag – it was a Taylormade, Toronto Maple Leaf golf bag!

I know some of you are thinking, “But the Leafs play hockey, not golf.”  And some of you are thinking, “That makes sense:  the Leafs are the best golfers because they get an early start each year.”  I’m not sure if my Maple Leaf golf bag means I’ve jinxed the Leafs to miss the playoffs for another 3 years or not, but I’m willing to take the chance.  The bag is pretty sweet.  Way to go, Mike – great present!

I also received another early present and this one reminded me of the presents I used to buy my Mom when I was a teenager.  When it came to buying presents for her, I always looked for things that she might be able to use … you know, necessity kind of things, like household items.

I’m not sure how many times I bought her drinking glasses, but it was more than twice.  Our juice glasses were so small you barely got a good taste of the orange juice in them.  I calculated that if I bought bigger glasses that would mean more juice.  My mother applied another formula that the bigger the glass, the larger the gap between the juice and the top of the glass.

I thought I was getting her great presents, things she’d really like.  She was always appreciative, but now that I think about it, they weren’t really presents.  Those glasses were more like necessities, items you’d go out and buy yourself because you didn’t want your teenage son drinking out of the carton any more (like that stopped me).

Those memories came back to me because my other early birthday present was tools for our trailer. It was great to get the tools, but I would have purchased them as necessities.  Why waste a good present on something I need?  And that’s when it dawned on me:  those are the kind of presents I used to give my Mom!

You know, I wonder sometimes if we do this with God, as well. We come to church to worship. We sing songs about Him, and listen (intently) to the preacher tell us how we can know, love, and serve God better.  And we think we are giving God a great present.  “I’m worshipping You, God.  Isn’t that great?  Aren’t you pleased with my present, God?”

However, worshipping God is one of those necessity kind of things.  The Bible says that if we don’t praise Him, the rocks will!  When we worship God, whether it’s by praying, serving, singing, reading or listening, we are just doing what we ought to do.  It’s a necessity.  We should never think we are giving God something He doesn’t require from us.

That doesn’t mean God isn’t pleased when we do worship Him.  He is always appreciative when we give Him glory … just like I really was pleased with the tools I got as an early birthday present.

Until Next Time!

Pastor Paul

Question: In what ways do you give God worship?  Leave your comment below.