Coins have two sides. One often has the face of a man, there to brag about the importance of the individual. The other tells a story, at times giving a historical brief about a country or state. We can flip the coin from one side to another, never thinking much of it, whether one side might be more important than the other.
Flip the coin of Christianity. On one side we have religious organizations that have built enormous edifices to the glory of God. White-painted steeples stretch long arms to the heavens, pointing the way to God. On the other side of Christianity, we have those like Mother Teresa. Their edifices are the examples they present: hours spent serving the needy; physical comforts done without; lives sacrificed for others.
Yet, what does God want from us? A magnificent house of worship? Or does he desire our hands of help stretched out to those who can’t help themselves? Are we forced to choose?
Flip the coin. Then flip it again. One side shows the magnificence of our worship to the Almighty Father. The other side reveals the help we must give to those who are desperate and without hope.
Our worship is both. We are to glorify God, and we are not to leave the weary and worn by the wayside.
We all know the story of Mother Teresa. Let’s look for a moment at the other side of the coin. 1 Kings 7 describes the magnificence of Solomon’s palace. God blessed Solomon more than any other king of the land. It took 13 years to build his palace, and it was glorious from end to end.
Our example comes from 1 Kings 7:23.
“And he made a great bowl 15 feet wide, nearly 8 feet tall, with a circumference of 45 feet, and it was cast from molten brass.”
Impressive! This bowl and its accoutrements weighed upwards of 30 tons and held 15,000 gallons of water. Yet, it was only one part of a complex series of ceremonial bowls, the others holding 300 gallons of water each.
This was, in modern day words, a cathedral of the most impressive nature.
Worshipping God is no small thing. Certainly, we cannot forget Mother Teresa. The poor will always be with us, and we should minister to them. Yet, flip the coin, and we see the great cathedrals and churches that populate our cities. They are a sign of reverence toward the great King.
To put it plainly, our God deserves every good thing we give unto him.
We cannot leave the poor unfed, but worshipping God is no small thing; we must make our praises loud enough for God and the world to pay attention.
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