There is an oft used expression in Christendom about “running after God.” The implication is that there is a tangible physical presence of God that can be experienced by any one of the 5 senses and attaining that “feeling” is our greatest purpose.
I have been in situations where I have “felt God” or at least what I think was God. If those experiences were real or not isn’t the point of this post. I perceived them as real so they were. Once you move into the realm of faith there is no evidence available to validate the experience anyway, or it wouldn’t be called faith. Heat, cold, pressure, intense weight, intoxication, euphoria, are physical experiences that I have chronicled at times on this blog. They were very real experiences for me or at the very least very real in my mind.
The skeptic in me says everything I know is just a function of chemicals in my brain so I may be able to experience the symptoms of an event without actually physically experiencing the event. That explanation breaks down however when the experience brings about real measurable change. This is especially true when it comes to areas in life where no amount of determination could affect change like hatred or fear. There have been countless times when a moment with God has changed my perspective toward an individual or outlook on life. It’s hard to argue those kinds of evidence no matter the chemicals involved.
So, when I say hearing people talk or sing about “running after the presence of God” makes me a little nauseated it’s not because I don’t think it’s real, I just think it’s a little selfish.
To be fair, there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel good and get drunk in the Spirit or get happy happy happy. There is nothing wrong with any of it except that it feels all wrong when you aren’t the one experiencing it. Perhaps wrong is too strong, misguided might be better. I don’t think God is unhappy if we get a little drunk on Him. Some of us probably need to let loose a little more but I don’t think that should be the “reason” we come together on a Sunday. If we all legitimately end up drunk on the floor by the power of God that is great and I would love to be there, but more and more lately I get the feeling the Church is just trying to manufacture it.
As a musician, this is a particularly touchy subject for me. Music is extremely powerful. It’s one of the truest forms of expression we have as humans and depending on the day, and how well I craft a song, I can make you feel just about anyway I want. If I am really good I can make you happy and sad all in the same song simply by using the skills I’ve learned over the years.
Take a look at these videos to witness the power of music:
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Amazing.
Those videos had very different crowds but they all had one thing in common – emotion.
Music is full of emotion and I fear we have hijacked the power of music in the Church, wrapped some religion around it, and are now unwittingly using music to stir up emotion and calling that the presence of God. There isn’t anything particularly evil about this other than it takes the focus off of serving others for our joy and places it on serving ourselves.
If my goal on Sunday morning is singing a song to get an emotional buzz instead of learning to love my neighbor, I have sentenced myself to a life of spiritual infancy. I will forever be the two-year-old wanting milk and cake instead of going after the real presence of God that always brings about measurable change.
Instead of seeking the presence of God, it seems like we end up running after the presents from God.
It’s a subtle but dramatic shift when we go from singing songs about God in order to remind us of how good Jesus is to singing songs about God so we can receive a feeling for ourselves.