Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a
heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if
someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the
Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. Let the peace of Christ be
in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and
be thankful. Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word
or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-16, emphasis mine)
In this past Sunday's sermons, Pastor Sam shared the point that we can choose to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit rather than living under the influence of the times.
There is a colloquialism we can use here: "flavor of the month." The phrase was coined out of the pratice of Baskin-Robbins, an ice cream store chain, which has many different types of ice cream and features a different flavor each month. Eventually, "flavor of the month" became a descriptor of two things: 1) people who would continually alter their worldview to match the prevailing notion of the time, and/or 2) people who would only accept news that was presented to them in the "flavor" (mode) they preferred.
How does "flavor of the month" show up in Christianity?
Well, Sunday provided a clear example. Our guest, Rondell Positive, ministered with a brief music set. As is my norm when listening to Rondell's music, I was waving my hands, singing along, and occasionally jumping up and down. Now, since I stand all the way in the back of the church, I assumed that everyone else would keep their attention focused on the front of the church, where Rondell was ministering on the platform. Wrong assumption. Some of my colleagues were visibly uncomfortable with my participation in worship. Actually, some of them were just outright uncomfortable with the music-- because the music was not presented in the flavor they like. How sad for them. They missed God because they were looking for a still small Voice in a suit-- but He showed up loud, in jeans and a leather jacket.
Perhaps this is why Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 include an array of musical types: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. God says, Take it all. Embrace whatever means is available for worshiping Me, and worship Me in a spirit of thankfulness.
How can we fickle human beings do what God has asked us to do? We can only accomplish this mandate by and in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives us the grace to be thankful, even though we live in very trying circumstances. It is He who gives us appreciation for His word, without regard to the mode in which it is presented. It is He who produces in us an exuberant joy even as the devil wreaks havoc in the lives of those we love. Why are we so full of joy? Because the LORD has done great things for us (Psalm 126:3). We are grateful to our God and so we behave like grateful, happy people. We love. We sing. We give. We shout. We dance. Our praise of Him is not contingent upon our personal preferences being sated.
We have come a long way in our faith when we are able to push past the negative things we see, and pour our worship onto the great God whom we cannot see, but nonetheless adore. As our pastor shared with us on Sunday, the world will say that we are illogical when we give thanks in the midst of crisis. But let us contemplate Pastor Sam's question to us: "Who is influencing your behavior?"
Oh, let me feel Thee near me. The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear.
My foes are ever near me, around me and within.
But Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin. (John Bode)
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