My Problem with Dignity

This Sunday at church, the A/C went out in the auditorium, so we held the service in the Commons (a smaller auditorium). It was crowded and hot, but I liked it. It reminded me of when we used to hold five services in that room before we built the other auditorium. There were two older ladies sitting two rows in front of us. During the music, they seemed to be doing their best to focus on the Lord and not on the conditions. One of them kept raising her hand. She would do it falteringly. Like she was unsure of herself. Not sure if she should raise her hands or if she was doing it right. She would do this funny little half-raised thing with her hand open, and then point up with a finger, then kind-of lower her arm but then wag a finger upward from shoulder-height. Occasionally, she would glance at her friend to the right or at the person on her left as if to see what they were doing with their hands. Or maybe if they approved of her finger-wagging. I guess you would have had to see it. Kinda funny.

But I can really identify with that lady. I think she might be a lot like me when it comes to corporate worship. And a lot of people. We’re unsure. We’re easily distracted. Of course, we’re concerned with what the people around us think. But it’s more than that too. I think if my private worship was more intimate – if my experience with God was more profound during the week – then my worship on Sunday would be less inhibited. I wonder what keeps me and that lady from throwing our hands up and falling down on our faces right in the aisles. Probably two things: decorum and neglect. Decorum b/c we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. And neglect of our day-to-day walks with God that would allow us to see Him more clearly and thus adore Him more genuinely.

David danced before God mostly naked. He must have been so focused on the Lord not to worry about seeming “undignified.” I would have been like what’s-her-name who scolded him for behaving that way. And if I ever found myself in a loincloth between the Ark of the Covenant and a whole crowd of people, I doubt I could focus on anything besides what those people must be thinking of me. But David’s focus was the other direction – on God’s covenant goodness and what He must be thinking. Guess I’m way too dignified to rank with the likes of King David of Israel.