The God of the Bible says that it is very wrong when we fail to worship him. Hence he condemns idolatry (i.e. worshipping other gods) over and over again in the pages of the Bible. For example, through the prophet Ezekiel, God told the Israelites that,
You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”
But why does this matter to God so much? Why does God care whether people worship him? What many people fail to realize is that the seriousness of a sin is determined not just by the type of act done but also by who the act is done against. Consider the act of killing someone or something. If you killed a dangerous bacteria or virus, such as the Ebola virus, most people would not think you had done anything wrong. In fact, you’d probably be regarded as having done something good. If you killed an innocent dog or cow, you would not have done anything good, but it would probably not be bad. But if you killed an innocent human being (assuming there were no extenuating circumstances), almost everyone would agree that you had done a great wrong.
What this shows is that how evil an act is, is determined not just by the type of act done but also who the act is done against. Now, if wronging a person (by killing them, stealing from them, etc.) is very serious because human beings have great value, how much more serious is it to wrong a being of infinite value and worth? It is unimaginably evil. That’s why it is so evil when people fail to give God the worship and glory that he is due. And since all of us have failed in this respect, all of us are in dire need of God's grace and mercy.
Learn More
Video (below): God, Worship and the Meaning of it All - University of Guelph 2017
Reference
Ezek. 23:49 (NIV).