ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 PULELULU ME 6, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 25-27; SIONE 4:16-26

No human function is more important than worship. What or whom you worship sets the direction for your life.

Ko e fatongia mahu’inga taha ki he tangata ko e hu. Ko e ha mo e ko hai ‘oku ke hu ki ai ‘oku ne fakatonutonu ‘a ho’o mo’ui.

I once counseled a man who was hugely successful. But he was also driven, impatient, intolerant, and angry. In the corporate world he was an absolute star. Companies held bidding wars for his services. But the cost of his success was a shattered marriage and almost complete estrangement from his children. He had demanded, pushed, and bullied his way to a sad and lonely form of success. But he had no sense of personal guilt or remorse. He told himself that he had done it all for his family and that he was the victim of their ingratitude. He may have been the toughest person I ever counseled. I dreaded our appointments because they felt like hand-to-hand combat. He wanted me to fix everything, but he had no desire to change. I resorted to doing something I had never done before: I began reading him Scripture about worship. It irritated him, but one day he said, "Stop!" I thought, "Oh no, here we go. Another argument." But he had tears in his eyes. He said, "You're reading this to me because the only god I have worshiped for years is me." Then he began to weep. He was right - all the destruction in his life was the result of worship. He was his own false god; that is, he was the sovereign he demanded everyone to worship, or else pay the price for refusing to do so. Change for my friend had to come vertically before it could ever come horizontally.

Many believers fail to understand that not only are we called to worship, but we are worshipers. Worship is not just our most important function; it is our identity. Everything we do and say is the fruit of worshiping someone or something. This is why we need to pay attention to David's zeal in 1 Chronicles 25-27. He pours his power, influence, and gifts into one thing: the building of an awesome temple to the glory of God. David wants this temple to be a visible reminder of God's existence and presence. David wants it to remind the people of Israel that everything they have is the result of God's exercising his power on their behalf. This edifice will stand as a constant reminder that nothing in all of life is as important as the worship of God. David will not be the one to actually build the temple, but he wants to leave everything and everyone in place so that God's house will be a monument to God's glory and a constant reminder to worship him.

We do well to share David's zeal - not to build temples, but to live in a constant awareness of God's existence, presence, and power and always to remember that nothing in life is more important than worshiping him. As we do this, we need to remember that worshiping God is not natural for us. If our lives are to be shaped by the worship of him, then we need to be visited by his grace. It is his grace that rescues us from us and turns our hearts toward him.