Worship In Your Own Way

Read Ezra 3:8-13

My wife has accused me of being 20 years older than what I am when it comes to music. You see, I love the older stuff. I enjoy listening to the quartets and big band types of music. Needless to say, that music is not typically found in my generation. I cannot understand the new wave of music that constantly repeats itself, or when I was a youth pastor, it was the music that you could never understand. What I needed to learn is that everyone from different generations worship God in their own unique way.
This reminds me of something that happened in the 6th century BC when Zerubbabel began rebuilding the temple after the Israelites returned from captivity. As soon as the foundation for the new temple was laid, the bible says, "all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord". But then, while the younger generation rejoiced, the older generation cried.
Why the two reactions? The young crowd had never seen the glorious temple of Solomon, so they were happy with what they saw being built. The older people realized this temple wouldn't be anything like the one they remembered, so their praise was mixed with sorrow.
It is imperative that we try our best to understand another person’s perspective. My background makes me worship different than you because your background is different from mine. We may never worship in the same manner, but the important thing is that we worship. I cannot live for God the way an elder lives for God because I have never been in a tent service. They sometimes haven’t “caught up” with my generation. It really doesn’t matter as long as we are walking in the precepts that the Lord has laid down, the manner in which we live that life will be different.
Remember, we may be of one heart for God, but we may react in several ways. Generations do that sometimes. Let's thank God with a heart of praise—even though we may express it differently.

“Because of human diversity - different tastes, ambitions, interests, backgrounds, experiences, etc. - differences of opinion will be inevitable.”
- Natan Sharansky