Idols of Means

I was greatly looking forward to this class, because of my future career.  I have definitely learned a lot, even more than I had anticipated I would learn.  While it was often stressful at times, I am glad that I was at Ross Corners this semester as well.  It allowed me the opportunity to have an outside view on their take on corporate worship through music.  The largest thing that impacted me this semester was this idea of strange fire.  I knew that there were guidelines in scripture on how to worship.  But, I had only ever viewed it with that narrow idea of an instructional manual, but not a God who knows who He is and demands that He be regarded in manners that He originates.  I am a very creative oriented person, so this idea struck me as odd, even wrong.  As I've done studies in and out of class I have come to realize that, if I truly believe God is who He says He is, then I have no right to interject my flawed, creative perspective.  God is perfect, so He has made a perfect way for Himself to be worshipped.  I need to step out of the way.  However, we are idol factories.  I know this thought has been presented many times in class, but it didn't really resonate with me until this followup post.  I have observed many times that we as creative humans want to elevate our given means of worship to an ungodly height.  The means have become something they were never intended to be.  Questions of style, Watts vs. Tomlin, ties or t-shirts, and organ or electric guitar have become so important and we hold on our views so tightly that we can't even love the brethren around us.  God said to love one another!  We pride ourselves on our own forms of legalism, that we refuse to call such, and ostracize one another over means.  If we would just sit down as a body and work out together what God really demands we do and be, we would experience unity and love is such an astounding way that those unredeemed would look at our worship time and yearn to join in such a body.  As I go forward, I plan to share this and many other truths with those who ask, and if I have opportunity to do so, those I teach.  I must constantly pray that I do not exalt the means above my Creator,