I've seen a number of changes during my time at this church. Some have been good, some bad, some neutral. However, one change in particular has been weighing on my mind. That is, our enthusiasm in music. When I first came, we were fairly uninhibited. People sang loudly, clapped, swayed or raised their hands as they felt moved by what they were singing. However, as time went on, the singing became quieter and people started to feel self-conscious about raising their hands. When, once it was easy to get a clap going during a song from beginning to end, now it is difficult to sustain it through a single chorus.
So, I began to wonder why. What brought on this change? And when I asked around, the answer seemed to be a desire to avoid "being carried away" or having an "emotional high". There is however, quite a gulf between these extreme states and the general lack of emotions that seems to characterize our singing lately, so perhaps it's time to consider another way.
First of all, it would be good to establish whether emotions themselves are bad because if that were the case, it would be better to avoid them. However, looking at the Bible we can see that God Himself is described as feeling intense emotions. He is grieved (Gen 6:6) and His anger burns (2 Sam 6:7). Jesus weeps (John 11:35), becomes deeply distressed (Mark 3:5) and is anguished to the point of sweating blood (Luke 22:44). Of course, God is different from us in that His emotions never arise from sin and can never lead Him into sin, but nevertheless, it shows that emotions themselves are not wrong.
In fact, far from being bad, the Bible encourages us, even commands us, to feel certain emotions. Paul often tells his readers to rejoice or be joyful (Phillippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16) and we are told in many places to be compassionate (e.g. Ephesians 4:32, 1 Pet 3:8). The Psalms are also full of intense emotions - rejoicing, despair, guilt, cries of anguish and distress (e.g. Psalm 31, 77, 88). In the Psalms we see the perfect of example of God's people crying out to him from every situation and finding joy or comfort in Him.
So, what's stopping us from responding emotionally in church? Is it because when it comes to church, we're afraid to trust our emotions? Are our minds more logical and less easily influenced when emotions are kept at bay? Is this the way to avoid being brainwashed into believing false doctrine? Maybe... But this is only true if we're responding to the music (or the speaker, for that matter). But that's not what we should be responding to. We should be responding to the truth of God's word. If our minds tell us that what we're singing is true, then this should free us to respond emotionally without fear. Of course, this is easier said than done. Most music (and some speakers) often aims to evoke an emotional response, so it can be easy to forget to engage our minds. But it's not impossible. It just takes some practise.
Consider this: if it is true that Jesus washed away my sins, then when I hear about it, I should feel freed... grateful... joyful... thankful... loved. If it is true that I am never alone because Jesus is always with me then when I sing about it, I should feel comforted... secure... grateful... thankful... loved. Having evaluated a statement and found it to be true, rather than suppressing the emotional response, we should embrace it. After all, Jesus did tell us to "love the Lord your God with all yourheartand with all yoursoul" as well as "with all your mind" (Matt 22:37).
So next time you are touched by a truth in God's word, don't suppress your emotions, embrace them. After all, if we can cry about a fictional death, how much more should we cry about Jesus, the perfect, gentle, Lamb of God, who was mocked, beaten and crucifiedfor our sins! If we can cheer and clap for a sports player, how much more should be cheer and clap for God who has given us life! If we can sing along with enthusiasm to Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey or Lady Gaga, how much more enthusiastic should we be when singing praises to our King who saved us! How else can we love God with all our hearts?
Questions for reflection
1) When you sing in church:
2) When you listen to sermons or read the Bible: