So many dried out Christians are disgusted at congregations who worship Jesus freely and openly. This includes, but is not limited to, dancing, crying, laughing, standing, sitting or laying on the ground-if every human isn't static in the pews they are considered foolish. Newsflash, true Joy does not express itself standing still, especially when you're with family and friends - Joy is a party! I think we need more stripping King Davids in the church today. Okay! Maybe not more nudity, since it's such a sexualized taboo in American culture, but we do need a safe place to worship Jesus the way our hearts need to express it.
I was raised as a Christian in the Baptist church, and for some reason I learned to hate and tolerate worship. I was taught that it was shameful to feel, which lead to a series of years where I stuffed all of my emotions inside. Holding back those expressions of my heart was praised since it was considered self-control, but it wasn't self-control at all, it was a death sentence to those valuable emotions. Instead, this practice lead to a life of deep depression, self-hatred, hyper-judgment, fear and anxiety.
I wasn't sinning by feeling, however, I was living in a falsely perceived world where human expression was considered disorderly and shameful, and that God was a boring, strict, mainly logical theologian who forgot he created peacocks and their mating dances. I lived in a world that said, "You don't deserve to feel joy because you're a sinner, you sin everyday and God has to punish you for it. Therefore, you must repent and feel bad for being a dirty-rotten-no-good-sinning-human. Go put yourself in a corner! And don't forget that God is good and loves you!" How messed up is that? Pretty hypocritical, wouldn't you say? It's a wonder why I struggled with punishing myself and wishing I were dead; I believed I didn't deserve to live.
Someone I love once asked me, "What's the meaning of life?" then answered himself saying, "Isn't obvious? The answer is in the question: it's to live." Therefore, how do we live? Do we set regulations on being human and suppress who we are by living in a false dualistic reality? Is being a human sinful? What does it mean to be human? It certainly doesn't mean to be a sinner. Why do we think that Jesus wants us to try and conjure up an identity outside of our human identity redeemed by his blood and originally made in the likeness and image of God Himself ? He doesn't.
Jesus wants us to live fully and freely in Him, and in Him there are boundaries that channel our humanness into perfect expression like dance, laughter, weeping and singing. Those boundaries are there for our safety, because we all know when an expression of some emotion expressed in an inappropriate way naturally entails negative consequences.
Why do we as Christians purposefully live inside these boundaries? Because we know that inappropriately expressing or doing something outside of the box will end in a natural consequence of sin that will harm us and even the people around us. The expression itself is not evil, however, the avenue of expression may be inappropriate. Jesus' (and Paul's) boundaries are not withholding some kind of secret glory like Eve thought in the Garden (eat of this fruit and you will be like God), and he's definitely not trying to kill the party, but instead Jesus is protecting us from hurting ourselves. Just remember that Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine after all of the wedding wine was drank - he's all about that party life (expressed appropriately of course).
With that being said, is dancing together at church because we are joyful about what Jesus has done going to result in any natural consequences of sin? of course not! Is it shameful to dance together as an expression of joy? of course not! On the contrary, it will actually bring us closer together because we will be bonding. Fun is not evil. Natural human expression is not evil.
Lastly, listen to the New Testament and the boundaries they set before us because they will save you from numerous complications and consequences, like speaking in tongues to an unbeliever - don't do it! They'll think you're freaking crazy!
Have a great week everyone, be free to express your heart, which works together in perfect unity with your logical brain. Don't fear your heart, be vulnerable and have some fun!
