Earlier this month, I was reflecting on a picture of a woman who was emotionally overwhelmed at a worship service. These reflections caused me to think about the emotional frenzy that many worshipers consider normal, and further, actively seek during their regular services. In many cases, the music is used to whip the people into a frenzy. Sometimes, there is a lot of repetition. Sometimes, the preacher's words are followed and emphasized by a strum of the guitar or the pressing of a few organ keys. In many cases, this emotional strumming is quite deliberate and orchestrated, and not the result of genuine inspiration that occurred spontaneously in the moment.
Case in point, in one church that I visited, one of the guitarists strummed the "Tomahawk Chop" war chant from Florida State University to whip up their "praise service!" If I hadn't witnessed it myself, I would have thought that someone was lying to me!
As I contemplated this religious by-product, a thought flashed into my mind about our need to relegate emotion to its proper place in the context of worship and spiritual seeking. The sentiment was, "don't mistake and/or substitute mere emotional expression for a genuine spiritual experience." So, in this context, the following inspiration flowed.
Many of us have watched (and perhaps presently watch) TV programs classified as "daytime dramas", "prime time dramas", and/or "reality TV". Although these genres of programming were developed decades apart, the one commonality that they share is drama! Depending on the writing and/or the directing, the drama ranges from quite compelling to obviously fake and stilted. But, regardless of the quality, the drama is supreme!
It seems that the TV executives (or those who own the networks) are more than happy to feed the drama addition in our society, a society of people who seem to love having their emotional strings pulled. We have even coined phrases to commemorate dramatic content, from "soap opera" to "cliffhanger" to "rachet" (which really should be wretched, but I digress...).
Some viewers have become so engrossed in these programs until they have been known to attack actors whom they see in public, not being able to distinguish the actor from the villainous character he plays. Some viewers see these programs as a prototype or an example of how to live; the "bling factor"--the cars, the houses, the furnishings--in these programs merely adds to this sentiment. We so often see the drama on TV mirrored in the homes and lives of everyday people. In some cases, the detached observer must wonder within himself, "Is the dog wagging the tail, or is the tail wagging the dog?"
And so, we find that some people have become dysfunctional by watching these programs, unable to maintain loving or peaceful relationships with their own family members, friends, or romantic interests, because they feel that, without drama (even manufactured drama), something important is missing.
This same dysfunction is present in religious groups, where many worshipers remain unconverted. These ones often mistake their weekly routine of pomp and circumstance, ritual, and emotional catharsis for a genuine spiritual experience. To be sure, many have experienced genuine spiritual moments during a regular worship service (or at other times). But the one thing that any true God-seeker must understand is that, in order to commune with God, emotion is not enough!
This Word is anchored in Numbers 14:39-45, where God had dealt the Children of Israel a crushing blow for their constant murmuring and, quite frankly, their disinterest and lack of faith. As He explained to Moses:
[22] Because all those men which have seen My glory, and My miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice;
[23] Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it.
The whole point of them leaving Egypt was to go to the Promised Land! But, up until this point, all the people kept saying was, "I miss such-and-such in Egypt! Let us go back to Egypt!" And yet, the same God Who miraculously brought them out of Egypt provided them a remedy for every complaint that they had. He miraculously gave them water from a rock when they were thirsty, miraculously gave them manna when they were hungry, and miraculously gave them quail when they wanted meat, for example.
So, when their spies actually saw the Land and confirmed that it was "an exceeding good land", the majority couldn't help themselves in voicing their lack of faith when they heard the part about "the giants." Instead of thinking, "As I drink this miraculously provided water and eat this miraculous food floating down from heaven, as I enjoy my miraculously wrought freedom from Egypt, and I'll wait to see how God will miraculously bring us into this land (which is what Joshua and Caleb said);" they again thought, "Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt!"
Just based on logic, one would think, "Talk about always looking at the glass half-empty! They really must not be paying attention to what's been happening for them lately! They REALLY don't want to inherit the promise!"
Since there was no Egypt to go back to (destroyed by plagues, cut off by the sea), and since they didn't want to go forward, the only option left was for the unfaithful and the disinterested to die--which is what ultimately happened.
But, for all of their dramatic complaining, they weren't done. Finally realizing that, maybe, just maybe, God had had enough, they rushed, in their zeal to a mountain and said, "we... will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned."
But, it was too little, too late. For all of the emotional turmoil of whining and complaining, many, in yet another moment of emotional fervor, ultimately rushed into their own demise. It is obvious to us that there was no change or growth in the people. Instead, we are able to see it as little more than a whole lot of drama. (By the way, it also exposes to us a common misconception embraced among religious ones; namely, that we have an endless supply of second chances--we don't--but we'll explore this at another time.)
For all of the potential that religious ceremony and true fellowship afford us to commune with God, too many of us too often attend worship services with an agenda that has nothing to do with communing God! In this, emotions betray us, not because they reveal what we feel, but because they reveal that our "worship" was little more than a show when we so quickly revert back to old habits when services end, and continue to carry old grudges and the same heavy baggage that we came in with.
Even among the well-intentioned, we sometimes set the bar too low in that we don't seek or expect the Spirit or presence of God to visit and dwell with us. The "I am not worthy" doctrines (which are not true) constrain many here.
Certainly, there is an emotional aspect to a genuine spiritual experience. In those cases, the spiritual revelation usually comes first, and triggers some sort of clarity, enlightenment, or release, which may result in an emotional expression of awe, overwhelming joy, unspeakable gratitude; which we may express in physical ways (hand waving, shouting, crying, praises).
Sometimes, however, our emotional expressions are nothing more than superficial. We heard our favorite song, which may have reminded us of a loved one that has passed on. Perhaps the preacher spoke so eloquently and powerfully and stirred us so... Perhaps someone read a liturgical ritual with such dignity... Maybe the harmonics of the song captured our imagination, and we got caught up in the beat and rhythm. Certainly, there is so much to love about an expressive service.
Sometimes, just thinking about our escape from the rigor of the preceding week can be overwhelmingly cathartic; and this, in and of itself, has its benefits. But, after we've sweated out our perm, sweated through our clothes, after we've sung until we became hoarse, after we've worked out enough to bring on a nap; after we've unloaded our emotions, are we leaving with a Word that can sustain us through the trials and tribulations of the coming week? No matter how satisfied we may feel after an emotional release, did we experience any growth that will enable that satisfaction to last?
We may have put our burdens down to get our shout on, but will we leave them there when we leave? We may leave feeling good and tired, but will we also leave spiritually stronger, wiser, encouraged, or enlightened?
Emotions come and go like the wind, and no matter how satisfied they may have us feeling in the moment, emotions are not enough to impersonate a genuine spiritual revelation that will cause a lasting change within us!
With a true spiritual experience, while the seeker should come to the gate with intense desire and longing to commune with God, outward emotional expressions usually are the effect and not the cause of the profound, intimate, inner experience.
Thus did the LORD say through His servant, Isaiah (chapter 55):
[6] Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.
We should not just wait passively for God; we must court the spirit!
When we want to impress a romantic interest, we 1) clean ourselves up, 2) get dressed up, 3) get our hair together, spray on a fragrance, apply cosmetics, 4) get a gift, etc. We learn all we can about that person so that we can spend quality time together and enjoy closeness, conversation, and yes, intimacy.
The same is true with God! We need to court the spirit, doing what it takes for us to receive His presence. We need to "prepare ye the Way of the LORD!" We need to get ourselves cleaned up by repenting of our wrong-doings and putting it down), we need to get dressed up (spiritually, clothes represent good deeds), and we should present ourselves as a gift, i.e. a living sacrifice (we must actually become personally involved and invested in not only helping others, but in our own personal change and growth). This signals our desire to be close to, yea intimate with God!
Certainly, there is value in emotional release. Early on in the development of our consciousness, sublime spiritual experiences may be few, far between, and fleeting. Yet, the more we seek, the more often we tend to experience them, and the more intense those tend to become.
Emotion is a poor substitute for sublime spiritual experiences.
As we learned from Elijah, God is not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. The Bible tells us, "Be still and know that I am God..."
For all of the pleasure that we derive from an expressive service, let's not lie to ourselves and waste years of our lives being content with familiar rituals, which lack the spiritual revelations that gave rise to them in the first place! Let us willingly and actively engage in the prep work (the Work of God) that changes us on the inside and (Isaiah 40):
[3] ...make[s] straight in the desert a highway for our God. [So that]
[4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
[5] [So that] the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Emotion is not enough!
We must do the Work of God (on the inside) so that we can receive (ye) the Spirit of God!