A couple of
weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, my wife and I made our way to Indianapolis in
order to enjoy the biggest racing event of the year. Every year between 300,000 and 400,000 people
gather together at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to enjoy the Indy 500. Lori’s parents have been Indy car fans for a
long time and their love of the sport has been passed down through Lori to
me. This was my second time attending
this event but this time there was something that stood out like a sore thumb
which I didn’t notice the first time. It’s
almost silly that I didn’t notice because it is something I do almost every
single Sunday. Worship.
Just think
of what we experienced on race day.
People gathered together for a unified purpose at a preset
location. From the time that we arrived
until the race was complete there was an order of events. The order of events ranged from particular
traditions, special announcements or tributes, to a time of prayer with special
songs interspersed throughout. The voice
over the intercom gave us directions as to what was going on and let us know
when to stand as any worship leader would.
The only difference between this Sunday and my regular Sundays is that
all of the pomp and circumstance led up to a race instead of a pastoral
message. And we didn’t take an offering,
In Romans 1
we are reminded of our tendency as fallen human beings to worship falsely.
They
exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things
rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.—Romans 1:25
Considering
the fact that we are worshipful in nature, I had to wonder what the target of
worship was at this particular event.
While there was a prayer directed toward God I did not get the sense
that God was the reason for the gathering in any meaningful way. If we were all wanting to worship God as a
community I’m sure we could have driven somewhere closer that had free parking
and air conditioning. There were a few
other things that stood out more predominantly during my time there.
With it
being Memorial Day weekend there was plenty of red, white and blue in the mass
crowd and the songs as a part of our gathering were all a tribute to
America. I was amazed at the number of
people carrying large coolers over long distances into the venue and a majority
of them were for their alcoholic beverages.
On our walk in and on our walk out there were cans and bottles all along
with way and we saw more than a few walking a little tipsy and stammering as
they left. I was extremely surprised at
how much ‘skin’ I saw over those few hours, and for the most part it wasn’t of
the female variety. I debated working on
my tan like all of the topless men but I doubt my wife would have let me. By the way, when did guys start wearing Daisy
Dukes? Lastly, there were many fans sporting
the hats and shirts of the drivers and race teams they supported. You could tell by the timing of the cheers who
people were rooting for. The last few
laps were tense as 2 drivers in particular were fighting for the victory and
the crowd, myself included, cheered for its racing icons. All in all, it appeared to be a day to wear a
little less, drink a little more, and sing songs about our country while
getting to cheer for your favorite driver.
Before you
mishear me, this was an exciting and enjoyable event. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with being thankful for our country, enjoying a cold drink or
feeling secure in your own body.
Although, I would argue that there is something wrong with guys wearing
very short jean shorts. I would readily
go again and would readily encourage anyone to go see it for themselves. The thing that you and I have to be careful
about is how we worship. It is a short
trip from worshiping the Creator to worshiping creation. If it sounds like worship, looks like worship
and feels like worship, you just might be worshiping. And so, when I notice things like I noticed a
couple weeks ago I make an intentional effort on my part to thank God for his
blessings. And I do it without the need
for someone on the intercom prompting me to worship how and what he wants me
to.
When I was
in high school I went to a large youth conference in Phoenix, Arizona with kids
from my church and church district. It
was a transformational event for me but one part of the trip always stands out
above the rest. On our last day we
traveled to see the Grand Canyon. For
someone who has lived in the flatlands of Illinois my whole life this was a sight
to behold. We even had the opportunity
to fly in a small passenger plane through the canyon and take pictures. It was amazing. After our group was finished
with the plane rides we gathered together and sang the ever popular Rich
Mullins song ‘Our God is an Awesome God’.
That was the most appropriate response to the beauty of creation in our midst
and it was worship the way it is meant to be.
Creation pointed us toward the Creator.
Bad things
happen when our worship rests on created things because created things are
supposed to orient us toward God. When
we idolize things like our country, food or drink, our bodies, or our
celebrities/icons we expect things from them that they can’t live up to. We can expect our country to have a role in
this world that it was never created for. We can expect a drink to satisfy
longings that go deeper than the bottle can reach. We can expect healthy bodies
to guarantee a long life in a world with no guarantees. Faulty expectations flow from faulty worship.
Today, be
thankful for your country and praise God. Today, be thankful for your food and
drink and praise God. Today, be thankful that you are alive for another day and
use it as an opportunity to worship the only thing worthy of worship. Our
Father, Creator God.
Here is a link to the special prayer before the race. This is from 2012 but is virtually identical to the prayer we heard in 2014 and was recorded near where we sat.
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