David just couldn't win! All he wanted to do was get the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. The first attempt was a disaster. A man was dead. A family was in mourning. Israel was fearful. And David was mad at God.

This time was different. After six cautious steps, David stopped the procession and offered sacrifices. Then he threw off his robe and danced before the Lord with all his might—all the way to Jerusalem. The ark was home, and David was overwhelmed with joy and generosity—until he pulled his chariot into the palace driveway. Michal saw her husband's display from the palace window, and it evidently made her blood boil. "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today," you can hear the sarcasm in her voice, "disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

His response was simple, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

David and Michal didn't agree on what constituted worship. God, however, defended David.

The conference president asked me to be the pastor representative in a study group on worship. Somehow, opposing opinions instinctively migrated to opposite sides of the table. The study group chair opened the service with comments on Christ–likeness, but the discussion immediately became anything but. Suddenly, an individual stood, leaned across the table, pointed a finger and shouted, "How am I supposed to get anything out of the worship service when I am subjected to that noise you call music?"

My mind flashed back to our previous Sabbath service when students in grades one through four from our school provided the music. Their young, untrained voices didn't blend well. The apparently tone-deaf were the loudest. Noise? Musically, it was awful! But they sang before the Lord with all their might. Parents beamed. Grandparents took pictures. Members smiled with the satisfaction that dollars spent on Christian education were the best investment they could make for their future.

I was brought back to the moment when someone on the other side of the table stood and turned to the group. "Well, I might as well stay home if I am expected to get something from a service that would bore the dead."

The remark introduced a new thought to me. I had never thought about getting something from worship. To me worship is giving!

Shepherds were led to a stable filled with animal smells and sounds, where in an empty stall they found a poorly clothed Newborn. They bowed and worshiped.

From their study, the wise men learned of the birth of a new King. Led by the star, they made their way to the house of the baby King and presented the appropriate gifts as an act of worship.

Did they get anything out of their worship? I can imagine how they returned, filled with joy from being with the King of the Universe.

Yes, to me worship is giving. Just as returning my tithe is my acknowledgment God owns everything, my gift of worship is my declaration He is Ruler of all. Do I get something from worship? More than I deserve, but it's in giving myself in worship that I receive.