If God is this omnipotent deity then why do we have to worship him?

Question

If he truly created the vast universe then why do we insignificant humans have to worship him? Is it not enough to acknowledge his existence (if even that is necessary)?

@ Suze

That's exactly my point. Why do people view God (if he does exist) as an insecure human but at the same time believe that he created the entire universe and possibly other sentient life. Do you realize how small and insignificant Earth and we humans are in the big picture?

Answer 1

Exactly! If there were a god, it is not what religions will try to teach you. They teach you what benefits them, not what benefits the world or your "soul."

Answer 2

If he designed us so that we had to worship him, then we all would. We would be born that way and instinctually do so.

But he isn't telling us to worship him. It is the churches that are telling us that he says to whorship him. Oh, and to do that we have to follow their rules and think like they do.

Religion is historically how the authorities got a large group of people to all think the same way (and the way that they want). Largely defunct now, with the invention of the television :->

Answer 3

I would ask you what your definition of worship is.

If it's to flatter and praise, you have a kinda shallow definition of the word.

Worshiping is something we all do. Its base meaning is to be devoted to something you know is greater than you. You can show that you're worshiping by going to church and "singing praises" but you can worship by sitting quiet in your room or admiring a sunset or taking a walk through nature and being thankful for its beauty.

God doesn't require us to worship Him. It's an act that springs naturally from that feeling of awe you get when you realize who God is and who you are in relation, and how much He loves you.

I know, I know. Lots of fundamentalists will try to tell you that the only way you can worship is to go to THEIR church and do it THEIR way or else you're gonna fry in hell. Baloney. Worshiping is just being thankful for what you have and doing something -- or just sitting quiet by yourself -- and expressing that.

Answer 4

the book Let the Nations Be Glad is great about this question. let me see if i can put it the right way...

we don't worship god to give him more glory-- he already has all the glory he needs. but, worshiping God is what makes us most happy. At least, once you've accepted him. so, God asks us to worship him because it's what makes us more happy.

Answer 5

There are concepts of worship that make no sense to me as well.

Our relationship with God is familial. He is the father of our spirits -- we are his offspring. The primary purpose of earth life is to grow and develop towards our divine potential. As we begin to understand His love for us, and to understand what He is willing to do for our benefit, there grows within us a profound respect and love for Him. To me, this is worship.

Answer 6

Even a sparrow is significant to God. You don't have to worship him. Most don't. But you must be willing to accept the consequence of your action. God made you and you live, walk and breath because he lets you....how can you then say, he isn't worthy of your praise and worship? How can the thing made, say to the maker,,,,you are not worthy of worship for all that you have done. You give more glory to your Mother and Father than you do to God. All they did is care for you.....God MADE you....

Answer 7

Our worship will not do God any good.

'O mankind, even if all of you become the most pious, it will help me in the least. And if all of you become to the most evil of all creation, it will not harm me in the least'

It is we who need Him, and He is free of all wants. We worship Him so that we can please Him. A child obeys his mom, to please her, his imagination is far less to know that what his mom tells him is for his own good.

God says in His Quran He did not create all of this for any foolish purpose. God Says:

And I did not Create the jinn and humans except they should worship Me.[Holy Quran 51:56]

Worship does not mean that we leave the world and just sit down and keep praising Him....like many religions have the concept of leaving the world for God, abandoning marriage and all that stuff....If every person on this planet starts worshiping God in this manner, within 100 years there would not be a single human being on this earth.

Worship very much means to do everything in the way that pleases Almighty God....to submit ones will to Him.

Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him, had even taught us, how to attend the call of nature. If we follow what he taught us just to please God, then answering the call of nature will also be counted as worship and will get us blessings.

The point to be noted here, is that if we take care of hygien in this way, it will in no way do any good to God, rather it will be good for us, we will be saved from many diseases.


God has created all we call the universe as a test for us. This is not our final destination. What we might consider to be "bad" or "good" could actually be quite the opposite.

Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion, and He has the Ability to do all things.
(He's the One) Who has created death and life, so He may test you which of you is best in deed. And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving;
(Hes' the One) Who has created the seven heavens one above another, you can see no fault in the creations of the Most Beneficent. Then look again: "Can you see any rifts?"
Then look again and yet again, your sight will return to you in a state of humiliation and worn out. [Holy Quran 67:1-4]

The Quran tells us about the nature of mankind and how quickly we forget the many wonderful blessings provided to us daily. Allah describes our attitude clearly in His Quran:

And when some hurt touches man, he cries to his Lord (Allah Alone), turning to Him in repentance, but when He bestows a favor upon him from Himself, he forgets that for which he cried for before, and he sets up rivals to Allah, in order to mislead others from His Path. Say: "Take pleasure in your disbelief for a while: surely, you are (one) of the dwellers of the Fire!"[Holy Quran 39:8]

We forget, as we were created to forget. And this is a part of our test. Will we only use a selective memory and overlook what we owe to our Creator and Sustainer? Or will we be appreciative even when we are suffering some hardship or setback in this life?

As for mankind, whenever his Lord tests him giving him honor and gifts, he says (bragging): "My Lord honors me."
But whenever He tests him by withholding his livelihood, he says: "My Lord has disgraced me!"[Holy Quran 89:15-16]

Then Allah makes clear to us the real reasoning behind all that is taking place:

Nay! But (it is because) you do not treat orphans with kindness and generosity.
And you do not encourage feeding of the poor!
And you devour inheritance with greed,
And you love wealth with abounding love! [Holy Quran 89:17-20]

Allah has created us and given us so much, yet we are so careless concerning His Right to be worshipped exclusively and deny the Day of Judgment wherein we will all be asked concerning His Generosity.

O man! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous?
Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion;
In whatever form He willed, He put you together.
Nay! But you deny the Recompense (reward for good deeds and punishment for evil deeds). [Holy Quran 82:6-9]

And how will we view our condition and surroundings? And how will we treat others around us? Are we considerate of others and are we quick to blame or quick to forgive? All of these things are a part of our test, the things we will be asked about on the DAy of Judgment.

Answer 8

I don't, but many people do. It's just a knee jerk reaction on the part of many, similiar (ha ha) to genuflecting. Jesus Christ, who many Christians worship as god, is alleged to have declared "my kingdom is not of this world". As detailed in the Bible, Jesus seems to have set ego aside. Many overlook this and put him on a pedestal, while actually he was only one among many super heros whose bravery we seek to emulate.Though I don't believe in worshiping anyone or anything, I do believe in loving my neighbor as myself. Through showing that I care, and not deliberately causing harm, I honor the life force present in each of us.

Answer 9

If go were really and all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise as described then he would not need our sacarin devotion. Consider - I have children. Sure I would like them to love me but that is my ego. My job as a parent is to make sure that they are healthy, happy and productive people. It is not to make them worship at my feet with the promise of the ultimate reward or the ultimate punishment.

Answer 10

People don´t have to worship god, he could be a reminder or a figure of power, nothing more.

Answer 11

Because He created us for Himself. He created us for a relationship with Him. He cannot worship Himself. He created us to worship Him. He is Holy. It is brilliant to worship Him.