~"strong and barely controllable emotion"~
A little while ago, I showed someone a video of a great worship song being performed by a local church. It was beautiful! The melody, the harmony, the lyrics... it was a moving song and they did a fantastic job performing it! However, the first comment I received from this person was "Wow... they look so excited." in regards to the congregation. Needless to say, it was a facetious remark. There was no excitement from the audience. There was no emotion. There was no outward display of joy or worship or... anything. It was then pointed out that the congregation at this person's church acted in the same way. Emotionless. My response was "Well, I guess everyone worships in their own way." Which I totally believe is true, but it did get me to thinking.... Where is their passion?
~There is an epidemic of misplaced passion.~
So, the past week or so, I have made it a point to observe people and their enthusiasm. I have noticed that people ARE passionate! They DO express outward emotion!!! When it comes to a sporting event, a video game, a tv show, a video on YouTube, a rant on Facebook, a song about family traditions, what they eat, exercising, animals... what's missing? God. There is an epidemic of misplaced passion. People who claim to know Jesus aren't excited about Jesus. People who are moved by a song about drinking and smoking aren't phased by a song about being free from the bondage of sin. People who will talk and talk and talk about gun rights will not discuss briefly their relationship with Christ. People ARE passionate, but mostly about earthly matters. It was really an eye-opener, to realize that we place our joy in things that are insignificant in the "grand scheme of things".
I, too, have felt the lackadaisical atmosphere at church, at Bible study, in small groups, during praise and worship, and many other activities that pertain to our faith in Jesus Christ. I have often felt the need to contain my joy or emotion or conviction because those around me are seemingly apathetic. For me personally, I am very moved by music. There is something about music and singing that releases a world of emotion within me that is otherwise left undiscovered. How sad would it be for me to be passionate about songs that glorify the use of alcohol, drugs, profanity, lust, and greed yet become indifferent to songs about my LORD and SAVIOR? How unfortunate for us to shout for joy because a human being put a ball through a goal and sit silently as we hear the GOOD NEWS about Jesus Christ DYING for us even though we are sinners?!?
~For me personally~
I, too, have felt the lackadaisical atmosphere at church, at Bible study, in small groups, during praise and worship, and many other activities that pertain to our faith in Jesus Christ. I have often felt the need to contain my joy or emotion or conviction because those around me are seemingly apathetic. For me personally, I am very moved by music. There is something about music and singing that releases a world of emotion within me that is otherwise left undiscovered. How sad would it be for me to be passionate about songs that glorify the use of alcohol, drugs, profanity, lust, and greed yet become indifferent to songs about my LORD and SAVIOR? How unfortunate for us to shout for joy because a human being put a ball through a goal and sit silently as we hear the GOOD NEWS about Jesus Christ DYING for us even though we are sinners?!?
~What about you?~
The Bible says that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" and most people agree that "actions speak louder than words", so wouldn't it be safe to say that our actions/reactions are a direct reflection of the contents of our heart as well?
~Think about it... where is YOUR passion?~
Sorry you asked me to read it and let you know what I thought. I read it but then tried to get baby to bed and then got distracted by all the things I did when he wouldn't go to bed... anyway. Here I am. You are so right. I see this everywhere, people having passion about everything but God. I think we need to watch out that our passion isn't just in godly things though because then those things (bible reading, tithing, giving, worship, church going) become the object of our worship instead of God Himself. We can tell where our passion is by taking a thing away. If our passion goes with it then that's where our passions was. Take away your Bible and if your passion goes then your passion was in the Bible rather than in the Word. Take away your music and if your passion goes with it then your passion was in music rather than in the God who is worthy of all worship. We need to get to a place where even without the emotions of it all, without the hype, without the flare and presentation the bottom line is that our desire is for God and our lives are open to Him in whatever way He desires to move.
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