Creativity Quote by Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith’s line lands less like a lyric and more like a boundary marker: worship isn’t a Sunday activity you clock into, it’s the posture you’re supposed to carry when the music stops. That framing matters coming from a musician whose career sits inside contemporary Christian culture, where “worship” can get reduced to a set list, a lighting cue, a raised hand at the right swell. By calling it a lifestyle “first of all,” he’s quietly pushing back against the consumer version of faith that treats spiritual intensity as an event you attend and then leave behind.

The specific intent is corrective and clarifying. Smith is defending worship from being mistaken for performance - especially significant for an artist who, by definition, performs. The subtext is almost an apology for the medium: yes, the songs can move you, but if the movement ends when the last chord rings out, you’ve mistaken emotional atmosphere for spiritual formation. He’s also protecting the credibility of Christian music itself, insisting it’s not just “inspirational content” but part of a bigger moral and devotional ecosystem.

Contextually, this is the language of evangelical discipleship filtered through pop accessibility. “Lifestyle” is a modern, market-friendly word, but here it’s being repurposed as a demand: faith should show up in habits, choices, and daily attention. It works because it collapses the distance between stage and ordinary life, re-centering worship as identity rather than soundtrack.