Emotions

Being raised in the Church of Christ, I was always brought up in a Church that rarely ever showed emotion during the corporate worship time (except at youth rallies).

Although the lively, expressive worship of the ancient Hebrew culture may look outwardly different in many respects from our worship today, there is no indication in Scripture that we should check our emotions at the door when we gather to worship God.

But what should that emotional expression look like? When do our emotions cease being an evidence of a worshiping heart and start becoming a hindrance or distraction? Also, what is the line between wholehearted worship and worshiping our emotions? These are important questions for the people of God. Because we desire to do everything for God's glory, we must seek to understand how our emotions should function in corporate worship.

I am not advocating that everyone has to lift their hands and clap to the songs in worship but I do believe that we might have lost a part of our worship experience that God deserves because we have been so concerned that we might be worshipping like a denomination and have held back the emotional side of us as human beings that God deserves from us in our worship.

When we sing the song “Nearer Still Nearer” it brings tears to my eyes. Thinking about those words to that old 1898 hymn allows me to draw closer to the Creator of the Universe because of His love for me he gave His only Son at Calvary. The tears flow when I think of those words and the Holy God that will shelter me from all harm.We must acknowledge that emotional engagement with God in worship is not an issue of temperament, but obedience to His Word.

Half-hearted worship is no worship at all. Whether we consider ourselves outgoing, reclusive, or somewhere in between, God is to be desired above all things. As we encounter the truth about God in a fresh way, we are to respond accordingly, whether it be in delight, peace, awe, or comfort. These are all natural responses that flow from a genuine relationship with the living God. Emotional expression is not a matter of self, but of mutual edification. Although biblical worship can involve a wide range of emotional responses, we are guided and restrained by the scriptural injunction to behave toward other Christians only in ways that build them up: "Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19).

My understanding is that in showing love to my brother, I am showing love to God. Our knowledge of God and His grace is meant to inspire a greater passion for Him. Likewise, the experience of joy as we worship God provokes a thirst to know Him better.

No two individuals are affected the same in worship. We all come from different backgrounds, races, parts of the world, and even come to worship with different “baggage” and trials. We all will respond differently in our worship to God based on our emotional being.

We need to remember to love our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. For the wonders of creation, for the miracle of the new birth, for the sacrifice of His only Son in our place, for the peace of His sovereign care, for the blessing of His Word -- for all these and infinitely more, God deserves our highest, purest, and strongest emotions.

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24