Undignified



Prayer:   Immortal, invisible,  God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

Read: 2 Samuel 6:1–19
http://www.esvbible.org/2 Samuel 6:1-19

Think about It: We’ve all seen those guys at the football games who have removed their shirts only to reveal chests painted with team symbols and colors. The camera seems to focus regularly throughout the game on these guys as they are rabidly cheering and letting the whole world know of their support for their favorite sports icon. Or think about those girls (and sometimes women) standing in line at a concert or outside of a movie theater screaming and crying over the latest heartthrob from Hollywood. For the sports fan or the star-struck the opinion of those around them doesn’t matter too much. Their admiration goes to the core. This is devotion.

The picture we see of King David today is similar to that of one of those adoring fans. He has stripped to his underwear and is literally dancing before the Ark of the Lord. His devotion goes to the core and he doesn’t care who knows it. He is performing for an audience of One – His Lord and God. The people around him are merely there and not really a consideration. For us this story has always begged the question of our own public worship practices and just how devoted we are to the Lord of the Universe. Would we be willing to go all in like David did without regard for the opinions of those around us? Well, probably not. While the suggestion isn’t that we all dance around like a fan at a football game during Sunday morning worship, this David story begs the question a little bit about our devotion levels and how we express them.

What God is looking for is authenticity in our worship. For David, removing his clothes and putting on a public display of devotion was inside of his personality and was the right thing for him. Since most of us would never paint our faces for a sporting event, or scream and cry for a movie star, perhaps suddenly doing those things in worship  would not be true to who we are. With God, it is always a heart issue. Is what I feel in my heart for God being displayed in my worship, without regard for the opinion of others? If the answer is yes, then I think maybe I’m okay. Could we all be a little more devoted to God and little less concerned about the thoughts of others about us? Probably.

Prayer: Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render:  O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The...
Read more

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv...
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl...
Read more