Pomp and Pageantry

by Doy Moyer

Pomp and ceremony do not make worship more holy any more than does the physical location. God seeks true worshippers who worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). He does not need the inventions of our hands, does not dwell in buildings made with our hands, and is not impressed by our monuments … “as though He needed anything” (Acts 17:24-25).

What impresses us can itself become a form of idolatry, for if we need pageantry and physical splendor to feel like we are worshipping, we must ask whether our worship is directed toward God, toward our own creations, or even ourselves. When we marvel at what we have made for the God who needs nothing, we may well be creating a culture of self-worship. If we do these things to impress people, we are not doing so because it is what God asks for or needs. Rather, we want these things, and then we claim to have God’s stamp of approval when it pleases us. Yet the simplest family with the least amount can worship God wholeheartedly and thereby please Him. If God judges the hearts over appearances, this surely applies to how we worship.

Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that worship needs to be complicated or flashy. We can be dignified and honorable even while we joyfully praise Him, but it is the fruit of the lips that give thanks to His name that serves as a pleasing sacrifice to Him (Hebrews 13:15).