Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
~ Psalm 95:1-2 (NIV)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you're watching a TV show that's been filmed live, you can really hear the audience participation, full of cheers and laughter. And yet, if you've ever been in a TV show audience, or even seen TV show tapings, you've seen how it's done...not so much from genuine response, but by an audience prompter. They tell you when to applause, laugh, and sigh (at least, that's how they used to do it). The point is, the response wasn't authentic -- it was trumped up just to fuel the show, not an actual gauge of audience engagement.
Or how about in film when a bad king or dictator addresses his oppressed countrymen, and the crowd response is mechanical, but required, to please the ego of their leader? They're saying "hooray", but their facial features say, "boo..." Not exactly the kind of praise that most people would desire.
When someone gives us a compliment, we want it to be real and authentic -- not contrived or forced...not obligatory or half-hearted. That's not real praise -- it's just noise. Better to have one single person give an authentic cheer, than a thousand people with a grim 'hoorah', right?
When someone is deserving of commendation, it's easy to clap your hands and whoop and holler, isn't it? A great touchdown, a beautiful song, a moving speech. We give standing ovations and "rock the house" with noise as we applaud great accomplishments -- we just can't hardly help ourselves! Hmm...it must be how we're wired.
So, when we come to God in our house of worship, why is it that, suddenly, this exuberant noise that we're wired to express is often dampened down to the point of a wet paper towel? Has God touched you more than an inspirational speaker?!? Has He done greater feats than a 'hail Mary' touchdown?!? Does His voice speak sweeter than a revered soloist?!? Your answer has to be yes, YES, YES!
Hmm. Where is the applause, the cheers, the loud praise for our God? He is so worthy to be praised -- how can we not let it out of our being? Maybe because we're simply not moved in our spirit by who He is and what He's done. He has become something much less than grand in our eyes. Becoming complacent to His grandeur, He's no longer like the Grand Canyon to us, but more like the local aquaduct. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever. Nothing impressive, nothing note-worthy. Gee, it gives credence to the old saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt...", doesn't it?
Oh, please tell me you will re-evaluate your response to God. Let Him hear genuine praise and adoration, with shouts and singing and hand-clapping! If you think that's undignified, tell it to King David -- he didn't think so, and he didn't care who was watching, either!
If Jesus were seated at the platform of your church, would you give Him a grand round of applause and a standing ovation? Would you sing loudly because He was there watching you, taking in your praise? If that's true, then what's stopping you when He simply isn't visible to the human eye? He is in the midst of His followers, you can best believe. So I say, crank up the volume, and let Him hear some genuine praise from thankful hearts!
Teach me to have a child-like heart
Free me to be undignified
Teach me to have a child-like heart
Free me to dance all over my pride
Gonna dance like a child
Sing like the Son
Abandon myself to the Holy One...
~ Undignified, by Darrell Evans
Love,
Joelene
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment