Monday, October 13, 2008
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What's Wrong With Being Super Excited About Jesus?
Our pastor had just ended his opening prayer this morning with the expected "Amen," and just as he was about to enter into his sermon, to the left of the congregation echoed the exuberant voice of 5-year old boy, "AMEN!" Wonderful Jesus, don't let the approving laughter of the congregation and encouraging words of the pastor shame that child into silence for the rest of his life.
But doesn't it seem to work out that way at times? Our initial passion and energy for Jesus is received in a way that may embarrass us to never make a misstep like that again. I started reading a Martin Luther biography today, and in the first two paragraphs saw something that mirrored this thought:
"On a sultry day in July of the year 1505 a lonely traveler was trudging over a parched road on the outskirts of the Saxon village of Stotternheim. He was a young man, short but sturdy, and wore the dress of a university student. As he approached the village, the sky became overcast. Suddenly there was a shower, then a crashing storm. A bolt of lightening rived the gloom and knocked the man to the ground. Struggling to rise, he cried in terror, 'St. Anne help me! I will become a monk.'
"The man who thus called upon a saint was later to repudiate the cult of the saints. He who vowed to become a monk was later to renounce monasticism. A loyal son of the Catholic Church, he was later to shatter the structure of medieval Catholicism. A devoted servant of the pope, he was later to identify the popes with Antichrist." *
I'm not saying anything against the Catholicism of today, merely quoting from a biography of a man who saw a lot wrong with the denomination in his days, so much so that he would break from the Catholic church and become the founder of another strong denomination. Yet on the day where he vowed to dedicate his life to the Church if that life might be saved, his good intentions were misplaced.
He prayed to St. Anne, vowed to whoever she was and not to Jesus. Well, what if Jesus had taken offense and chose not to use Luther because of it? What if he had laughed or sneered or looked down on Luther for the misstep...and what if Luther, in seeing he was wrong, became embarrassed so that he was too afraid to stand up to the corrupt church of his time?
I happen to love America's Next Top Model, and the other night Tyra said concerning a very energetic and exuberant to-be model, "I can always pull a model back." The woman Tyra spoke of is sometimes too over-the-top, making her shoots a bit bumpy...yet Tyra knows that a model like this can be toned-down, whereas it is harder to energize a shy and reserved model. The reserved model went home, whereas the hyper one is being given another chance.
I would rather be over-the-top for God then apathetic and lazy. He can reign the former in, help them correct their mistakes and re-align their ambitions. Reminds me of horseback-riding: a powerhouse of a horse is much more fun then the worn-out retiree. Sure, the powerhouse may slam your leg into a tree in its headlong run, but at least you got somewhere...and you know that you have a horse that can be worked with. I don't think Christians are any different for God.
I think of all the things I've said with too much conviction that I later saw were incredibly wrong. What if people around me ridiculed me or jumped all over me for them? God certainly wouldn't correct me the way some people feel the need to; his answers might come through the gentle words of pastors or parents or fellow-bloggers, but never through harsh, demeaning words.
No Christian is perfect until they join Jesus in Paradise. Even Paul, one of the first times he preached, talked so long that a man fell asleep, fell out a window, broke his neck and died. Paul woke him up, set him back into his seat, and continued preaching until morning (Acts 20).
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT
What do you think is worse to be apathetic or overly excited about your faith?
*Bainton, R.H. (1997). Here I stand; A life of Martin Luther. p. 15. Penguin Books USA, Inc, New York, NY. p
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Comments (16)
Nothing I can think of. I get excited about Jesus! Its normal.
To be active in the pursuit of truth is vital for change and evolution of thought and reason. I would say that apathy and going along with status quo creates stagnation and does not allow for growth or CHANGE. Martin Luther was revolutionary in rejecting church dogma and ritualized worship.
I think a happy medium is good. God clearly wants us to be temperate about our faith, and live within our faith so that it's not dead. But the people who say "you can get excited about a football game, why can't you scream and yell about Jesus?"
As soon as Jesus because a football player, I will scream and yell for him. But for now I'll keep my worship respectful.
Apapthy is horrible, but sometimes, I question the authenticity of the worship if the person worshipping is overly excited... Who am I to judge, though?
We are supposed to be excited about Jesus. Coz it's always wonderful to know that Jesus will NEVER leave us. We shall keep on praising HIM at all time. XD
That's one of the great things about God - we don't ever have to worry about the "what ifs" with Him. He was fully aware of what Martin Luther would do that night in the storm and who he would pray to, long before Martin Luther ever walked on his own two feet! God had a plan for Martin Luther, as He does for all of us (Jeremiah 29:11). Had His plan been to strike him down for idolatry, He'd have done it. He could do it to any one of us at any given moment for any sin we commit.
We should always speak the truth, even if it's not something someone wants to hear. Many times people will say what someone wants to hear for fear of hurting their feelings or offending or discouraging them, even if it means not telling them the truth. Proverbs speaks a lot about that. We don't ever want to hinder someone else from serving the Lord - but at the same time - we should keep our focus on the Lord instead of other people, so that we don't get hindered ourselves. If we worry about what other people think of what we're doing all the time - we don't get very far for God, and if we're constantly worried about stepping on someone else's toes or offending them, we won't get very far that way either.
If you are someone who praises God out loud and gets excited during service or at home because you're filled with the Spirit, then you ought to do it and know that God knows your heart. If you worship quietly - it doesn't mean you're apathetic or lazy. God knows our hearts - He knows what's for show and what's sincere. He also knows who is apathetic and lazy!
As for the model show referenced in the blog - I have never seen it - but I think it's a far fetched comparison to worship. The show is obviously focused on models and who is the best or who can be molded just right. Vanity isn't looked upon very highly by the Word of God. Worshiping God, whether excidetly or quietly, is about God. Not man (or woman).
~ God is Omniscient! ~
~ God is HOLY! ~
i was wondering about the tyra pic... LOL... but his was a nice post... good food for thought...
I think it's good to be excited of course, but excitement isn't everything. There are going to be times when we are excited, and there are going to be times when we struggle to care (either because we are tired or because we are having a hard time and questioning God's intentions toward us).
Trying to serve God in times when we feel apathetic as well as times when we feel excited is true faith. People confuse excitement with being filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is when we yield to His leading (which means acting like Christ would in any situation you are in). After all, who would cause helpless sinners to want to imitate Christ other than the Spirit who is living in us? There are times when this is easy, and there are times when this is hard. There are times when this is exciting and there are times when I have trouble caring.
@NightCometh@xanga - Read 2 Samuel 6:16-23, how King David celebrated the return of the Ark of the Covenant into Israel. There's a time for solemn, quiet worship, and there's a time to dance and sing like a fool.
Personally, it should depend on the person how they want to praise them but no body should ever point fingers or anything like that cuz u are excited. I am always excited whether I am sing loudly and dancing or I am just keep it cool... I am always excited cuz he in my life, he never left me, I HAVE FAITH IN HIM AND I BELIEVE IN HIM!!!
Check out that girl bottom left. Holy crap those shoes are way too big for her!
@Theophilus166@xanga - Obviously, if the Ark of the Covenant ever returned to America, that would be a different kind of circumstance. However, in churches where you walk in and everyone is "singing and dancing like a fool", I think that is a bit different. Context is everything.
And who says respectful worship has to be quiet? My church organ can get VERY loud, praise God. It's not a funeral...just because it's reverent doesn't mean that it's soft all the time. Singing loudly as God gives us voices is a good thing, within the context.
Why be apathetic about a God who redeemed you from sin? How can anyone look at the cross with a dull view, when the cross is LIFE? To be given salvation and freedom, joy and victory - to be given hope - and life eternal, if that doesn't spark someone to be overly excited about their faith, then something is wrong.
I believe most Christians, a vast majority, are not excited about their faith because they have allowed the culture around us to weigh them down and silence them. If Satan can't have your soul, he will definitely try and steal your testimony, your victory, and your passion and excitement.
....I say bring it on, because I'm thrilled to death and, yes, quite excited about my Jesus.
are we talking about none sense yelling or yelling becuz the fact that that person found Jesus??? i'm not the one to give out advice here, but God's praise should not be stopped, but if it is to get attention for urself and disruptive it is not right...
so can i get an AMEN!!!?
To be apathetic. God's been working on me with this. I am very passionate about my faith, and because many of my oppinions are based on scipture, I sometimes unconsciously equate them to absolute truth. Yea... So I am working on that, but I love being enthusiastic, I just need to pick my battles a little more wisely.
I think our culture, really makes us shut up and not be excited about our faith. We are pretty much told every day that Christianity isn't cool. Some people listen to this, while others don't. I know in the state I live in, in schools now days the kids don't even have freedom of speech or religion. The Christian kids are told to shut up, not to pray, and not to have a Bible in the school, while the Hindus, Muslims, Atheists, etc. have a right to talk about there religions, to have pray, whatever. It's really just the culture and society that we live in.