I’m fond of saying that “worship is always the right response”. Though it’s certainly not unique, I don’t recall having read it anywhere. So apologies if I do not give credit to some known source of the quip.

I’ve used that phrase in wonderful times and in tragic ones. It has been a comforting reminder. Sometimes it has been an unwelcomed friend knocking at the door of my pride.

As things continue to fall in place after Ike, I realize that the saying is wrong. At least in part.

What I should say is “worship is always a right response”. The distinction is that in times of difficulty, as with hurricanes, worship is a right response but not the only right response.

When tragedy comes, it is right to mourn. It is right to weep. It is right to lament. And it is most certainly right to worship Yahweh.

Surely, mourning and sorrow can be done in a way that is faithless, sinful. Emotions are not neutral. But there is a way to express them which is genuine, healing, and open to God. When expressed this way, even grief and sorrow become a form of worship. In this sense, worship is always a right response.