A pastor teaching an adult class at Sunday school selected a middle-aged couple to act out the Old Testament's burning bush scene. The husband was asked to supply the voice for God; his wife would read Moses’ lines.
All went well until they got to verse 15. The wife, as Moses, read the wrong line: “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers…’” she said.
The pastor interrupted her. “Wait a minute. You’re not God.”
Without missing a beat, her husband said, “I’ve been trying to tell her that for 18 years.”
I wonder how many of us — consciously or unconsciously — think we are God. Do we place ourselves above others? Do we make decisions without concern for consequences? Do we expect everyone to bend to and obey our every whim
Society teaches us to care only for ourselves, so many people believe they deserve the best in life, that they are entitled to have all desires met. They fall into a form of self-worship, expecting others to extol the ground they walk on.
We have been created with the need and desire to worship. But we should worship only God; not the pastor, not the worship leader, not the choir director, and not the untold other events, places, people or possessions that possess us.
The sanctuary is a place consecrated to the worship of God and a place for refuge and protection. It is a safe harbor in life's storms; where Christians can weep together, laugh together, celebrate together, free from fear and full of acceptance. It is holy ground.
Remember that because God is present. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you are always on holy ground.
Everything you do, say and think can be done as an act of worship in God’s presence.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview’s pastor.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FROM THE PULPIT: You're not a god; there's only one God