If our hearts are not set on pleasing God in the worship arts arena, we will be remembered for the wrong reasons. How many times have we attended a concert or worship event to only to ask ourselves, "What is WRONG with this picture?" Although there will always be dancers whose priorities are elsewhere, those of us who love the Lord with our entire existence will aim to please Him only.
Here are some questions that we should ask ourselves regularly:
Should I remember a creative hairstyle more than the message?
Are those eye-catching garments really more of a fashion show than a tool for ministry?
Does the general personality of the ministry promote anti-social behavior, callousness, or an unfriendly demeanor?
Is there a lot of joking, disrespect, talking, or carelessness taking place when there should be focus and unity?
Do the garments serve as a example of a "striptease" show more than reverence for the Creator?
Do electronic devices hinder the ability to worship or encourage others because many are consumed with giving or receiving updates on social networks and text messaging?
Are there more people observing others praise and worship than there are actually worshipping Him?
All that we do should cause others to remember the cause of Christ. If we spend our time consumed with our own preferences, desires, needs, choreography, dressing room space, line-up on the roster, and other self-centered priorities, we can guarantee that we will not be remembered as those who gave complete glory to God.
This process requires constant evaluation of our own motives, Bible reading, prayer time, and living lives that please God while serving others. When we can barely recall the song danced and its intended message, we know that we have been disrupted by the flesh. Let's focus on the assignment of letting others glorify God our Father by seeing the good works that we do here on earth.
New King James Bible Version
1 Samuel 10:25
Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
1 Timothy 5:25
Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
4 comments:
Yes!! This really challenged me to look at some of my motives in why i do what I do in dance ministry. The truth be told, we should not have "motives". Our only goal and hearts desire has to be to please the Father and give Him the glory through everything we do. THEN in turn the people will be blessed, souls will be saved and lives (including ours) will be changed for the good. God Bless you sister Pittman! Thank you for the reminder of what we truly are here fore!
Let me mention a couple of related things here that annoy me:
The first is modesty. We all believe that modest dress is important, but I've seen plenty of people who leave modesty behind when they're not dancing. Sorry, this is hypocrisy.
The second is garments. Generally, it seems that the worse the dancer, the more fancy their costume. They use elaborate garments to hide their weaknesses. Gifted dancers realise that it's primarily their movements that communicate and don't go overboard with their costumes. And some garments, quite frankly, look hideous.
Feel free to disgree...
I don't disagree with you Dancer, on the contrary you bring up points I hadn't thought about, but they definitely make sense.
One issue I have as it relates to garments and my individual praise dance ministry is that almost every other dance we minister, we're buying something new/different. We dance every other month at our church (outside engagements are few), yet our team leader/choreographer is always "dipping in our pockets" on behalf of the Lord.
Dancer made a very good point. i enjoyed reading this article and the comments. we can't hide behind garments, or try to "out-do" others. sometimes less is more. simple, appropriate and beautiful garments speak volumes. when the music stops, what people should remember most is the message that was given. if all they see is the garments...
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