Adam & Eve: Checking for Chicken

“Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”

I remember, as a young child, sitting in my grandmother’s back yard one summer and really wrestling with that philosophical issue. (Seriously… I’m such a nerd.)

Years later, I got saved, started reading my Bible, and- voila- the answer was there in plain English (well, not PLAIN English. People were still reading KJV back then). THE CHICKEN CAME FIRST AT CREATION (Gen 1:24-25). Problem solved, philosophical dilemma conquered. I then moved on to “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?”

It is amazing how often we DON’T look to the Bible for answers- even on “Bible issues”. (I put that in quotes because I believe that everything is a “Bible issue”- there are biblical principles that apply to every area of life, no matter how obscure or “unspiritual” they may seem. EVERYTHING is “spiritual”. There is no Hebrew word for “spiritual”… For most of history, God’s people never divided their lives into “sacred & secular”. T'shuva. But that is a blog for another time…)

We often even forget what the Bible says about the subject of “worship”, instead relying on experience and personal judgment. The central issue to life. Everything that we do is either WORSHIP or ANTI-WORSHIP. (Again, a subject for another time…)

I have a lot of conversations about worship. I find that very few people have put a lot of thought into defining “worship”. It took 13 years in music ministry before I actually heard a complaint that could be analyzed by Scripture. It seems that most people’s definitions of worship (that I've encountered) are centered on musical style, experiential preferences, and “what I grew up doing”.

So which came first- the chicken or the egg?... or, in our case: How do you define “worship”? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please send them to bbailey@lifecharlotte.com.

Next time, we’ll look at the rest of the Creation story (what happened after the chicken came along) to see if there IS something there that should influence our definition of “worship”.

I’m egg-cited to hear your perspective,

Brad