Worship is about saying no [video from Steve Jobs]

By Bryan Nelson On October 7, 2011 · Leave a Comment

You’ve got decisions to make every minute of your life. Have you ever struggled with what to say yes to? How about what to say no to? The bottom line is you and I have the full control over what we end up focusing our lives on.

What really is “focus” all about? Think of how a photographer uses a camera to focus on a subject. They decide to frame out and blur non-essential visual information on every shot. The photographer decides on purpose what’s not important. In other words, they say “no” to some good surrounding stuff to bring value to what deserves the attention.

Another example, take what Steve Jobs is saying in this 90′s video clip. He is explaining that focus is about SAYING NO. He apologizes for putting a bullet in the head of some of the things Apple had started. But he said it’s for a good reason…to allow them to focus on the most important elements.

Listen to what he says in the context of your life, worship, and church. [Heads up, there's some raw language he uses — but the content of what is is saying is valuable...so use your filter.]

While Steve is a genus business guy; relate it to Jesus for one second. Spiritually speaking, what did Jesus say “no” to while on earth? Can we identify the few things Jesus said “yes” to? There’s lots of great stuff Jesus could have gotten involved with. But, He didn’t. In the words of John Maxwell, “Say yes to the best, and no to the good.” That’s the principle here.

Worship is all about assigning value to something/someone, and devaluing something/someone else. It also means we decide what NOT to assign value to. So here are some questions for us…

What am I saying “no” to today to focus? To worship God?
What is the church saying “no” to today to focus? To accomplish God’s mission?
Have I done a “worst case assessment” lately…asking “What would I hold on to for dear life if everything crumbled because I value it highly?”

God help me to figure out what to say no to, in order to focus my eyes and worship on You.