I painted a typographical design for my daughter's room. I did everything. I took some reclaimed pallet wood and made the frame and then painted everything. I was so proud of what I did, but not in a way that you may think.

Granted, a small part of me enjoyed the accolades and encouragement and Facebook likes and Instagram hearts, but that’s not why I did it. I did it for my daughter because I love her, and I want her to enjoy it. If nobody else likes it and she loves it, then mission accomplished. I love when she looks at it and smiles. When she grows up, I hope that she sees it and remembers how much I love her. Maybe she’ll even take it with her when she moves out and hang up in a prominent place in her new house. Maybe.

The point is that I created it for her and her alone. Nobody else. And if no one else saw it, that would be fine.

Worship is the same way.

Every single one of us has gifts, talents, passions, and so on. We have hobbies that we love doing. We have skills that we excel in. Worship is simply a change in mentality, the way we think about what we’re doing.

Why are we doing what we do?

Worshiping God means taking what we excel at and doing it, not for ourselves, but for God to enjoy. What’s the difference between Dave Matthews playing guitar and David Crowder? It’s not really talent. It’s not even the passion for music. It’s the audience and perspective.

Worship is taking that passion, and then using it for God rather than self. Musicians and songwriters can play music and write songs with the attitude of composing something pleasing to God rather than man. Teachers can teach knowing that they are taking the talents and passion that God gave them and putting them to good use. It doesn’t become about test scores and evaluations; it’s just about doing what you know you’re supposed to do. Sales folks can go into their jobs not focused on making money but rather treating people with love and respect and helping them find the perfect fit for them.

An attitude of worship is fairly practical; it’s just easy to get sidetracked often. Here are a few practical questions to ask regularly to ensure you maintain an attitude of worship in all aspects of life.

Did I give it my best?

This is one of the areas I’ve taken issue with church people in the past. A lot of them think that because it’s done for God, it doesn’t have to be good, that we can be lazy with our preparation and so on. Not true. We are told several times throughout the Bible to be wise with the things that are given to us: money, skills, honor, power, etc.

We tend to work harder and put our best effort into things when we are doing something for someone we respect and love. I had tremendous respect for my high school wrestling coach, so I put all my effort into everything I did at practice and in matches. I wrestled freestyle in the spring and went to camps in the summer. I went far beyond what was required. It was partly for myself because I wanted to do well, but I also wanted to make him proud. The same is true of several of my mentors throughout the years.

If we can give our best to people we highly respect, then we should do the same for God. He wants to see us utilize our talents just as much as, and arguably more than, the coaches, mentors, and parents we want to impress.

Did I do it for the “likes”?

Our culture is obsessed with social media. How many “likes” did my Facebook post get? How many retweets did I get? Can I get this video to go viral?

The purpose of social media is to engage culture and society. Likes and retweets and such are a part of it, but it should not be the end goal. Post a status because you have something to say, not because you’re trying to get a thousand thumbs ups.

The problem is that this mentality can easily filter into the rest of our lives as well. When I create art, or write a story, or compose a song, it starts to become about how many pats on the back I can get rather than expressing something from deep down inside me. If we start heading down that road, we’ll never be satisfied because it will never be enough. If I only wrote blogs based on the number of responses I received, I would have stopped a long time ago. Instead, I write because I have something to say perhaps something I say will resonate with someone else who needs to hear it. And if only one person gains something, I’ve done my job.

As Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” The accolades of man are temporary, but the praises of God are eternal.

Is the finished product something God would be pleased with?

I’ll be honest. I understand that my art work will never be considered a masterpiece. I’m never going to write a song that goes platinum. And if I ever write a novel that ends up on a bestsellers list, I’ll be the person who least expected it to happen. But that’s not why I do it.

The composition I made for my daughter’s room is nothing special, artistically speaking. In fact, I’m sure that many artists could pick out any number of flaws in my work. If my daughter loves it, though, nothing else matters.

This last question is kind of a culmination of the other two. What is the end result? Would God be proud of the effort I put in and the end product it created?

When I play music on Sunday morning at church, I look at the end result and ask myself if it is pleasing to God. Did I prepare myself beforehand: musically, mentally, spiritually? Did I play the best I could, regardless of how many mistakes I may have made? Did I genuinely worship, or did I simply play an instrument? Did I get to lead people to the throne of God through my talents? If I play a perfect set but don’t do it in an attitude of worship, then I didn’t accomplish my purpose.

There’s a fine line between obsessing over quality and skill and giving a mediocre effort. Like many parts of life, it requires balance. We put forth our greatest effort because we love God and want him to be pleased with our work. We also grace when we aren’t perfect with what we do. And that frees us to not obsess over perfection, which often times allows us to do our best work.

When it comes to a lifestyle of worship, it’s a simple matter of the heart. It doesn't have to be singing in church. It's living life the way God created us to. It's art. It's friendship. It's fun. You could put together some of your best work ever, but if your heart is not in the right place, then it’s all just a striving after the wind.