The Sound of Applause

I couldn't get into the worship service this past Sunday -- it just felt a bit different than other weeks... the worship team itself was new, so there was a new style up on the stage and the congregation seemed a bit more muted than usual.  I am not sure what it was but I just couldn't get into it this Sunday -- sad, isn't it, with so much bounty to praise God for I couldn't bring myself to lift my hands to heaven because I just wasn't "feeling it" that morning.

As I was singing half-heartedly, trying to get myself in to a rather slow song, I heard something that just filled me with irritation: the sound of one person clapping.  During a slow song.  I cast a glance at my wife as if to say, what on earth is that guy doing? Clapping during a slow song... the sheer nerve of the man.  Afterall, I reasoned to my crusty self, slow songs are NOT when you're supposed to clap.

As I wallowed in self-righteousness and tried to sing the song on the screen "properly" (read: without clapping), I was struck with a thought:

"When was the last time I applauded God?"

Instantly, I felt ashamed as I looked at the man ahead of me, happily clapping his hands to worship our God, as I stood there going through the motions because I wasn't quite in the mood.  As I reflect on it now, I am struck by my willingness to judge the man ahead of me for his style of worship - and his JOY in doing so - when my own worship that Sunday was anything but heartfelt.

Scripture reminds us that it is right - and necessary - to praise and extol our God:

Psalm 117:1-2 (The Message version): "Praise God, everybody! Applaud God, all people! His love has taken over our lives; God's faithful ways are eternal. Hallelujah!"

Yet how often do we truly praise God? Or to be a bit more broad: do we realize that applauding God is both an act of thanks in worship AND a way of life?

In Luke 10:27 Jesus tells his followers - us - that we are to: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind". I love that verse -- alot.  However, let's for a moment take that word love and replace it with applaud... because applauding the Lord is based in love.... see what you get... "Applaud the Lord your God...".  Changes the dynamic a bit, doesn't it? Applauding and loving unto God are one and the same thing.

But oh we claim -- or at least in my case, I claim - I don't KNOW how to clap the way God wants me to clap! I don't know how to applaud God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind!

Aren't we all guilty of this? Claiming that we don't know how to clap? Or if we do know how to clap doing so pretty half-heartedly?  I like to claim that I don't know how to properly love/applaud God... but you know, it really is pretty basic how it shakes down:

• In our work, are we working for God? Or are we shuffling papers on our desk to pass the hours before we can go home and do something better? (Colossians 3:23-24)
  
• When there is the altar call on a Sunday morning... do you head up for prayer or do you bee-line for the door because you need to get to Swiss Chalet? (James 5:14)
• In our relationships are we always aiming higher? Or are we content with the status quo? (Ephesians 6:1-4 and Ephesians 5:22-33)
  
• Is your offer to help that person who kind of bothers you sincere? Or are you hoping that they will say no thanks so you can go back to your own life and avoid having to ask them if they need anything for the next few weeks? (Luke 10:30-37)
• Are you truly happy and thankful for what you have or do you constantly wish you had more, were more and looked more like someone else? (Philippians 4:19 and Exodus 20:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18)
  
• Are you repairing broken relationships -- or are you content to allow the past to define your future? (1 John 4:20)
• Are you of the world or in the world? (John 17:14 and James 4:4)
• When a friend, a family member, an acquaintance makes a rude comment about God or about Christians, do you not say anything because you don't "feel like getting into it" or do you chuckle along because it is just easier that way? (Romans 1:16-17)
• When you give your offering to God through tithes do you do so willingly, or do you think of a million better ways you could be spending that money you just put in the plate? (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• On Sunday morning, do you scowl when your neighbour praises God in his/her way, when in actuality you should be casting your glance inward at yourself and the way you are worshiping God? (Okay, clearly that last one is for me! :-)
  

No matter how you answered those questions above, the reality is that God -- and our loving applause of HIM - is found in all those areas... in our work, in our dedication to Him, in our relationships, in how we live our lives, in our willingness to be servants... all of these are ways to demonstrate how we love and serve Him.  You don't need to simply applaud God to worship Him... applauding God can take many forms, obedience to Him and His Word being first among them.  

If we define applauding God by this standard, then the simple act of applauding becomes a lot deeper in meaning, doesn't it? Imagine the sound of rejoicing among the saints when we - with a heart filled with the joy of the Lord - rejoice at the act of repairing a relationship!!  Imagine the smile on God's face, and how He claps His Hands, when we declare His gospel with a voice as loud and strong as Christ's own voice!! Imagine the applause of heaven when we stand strong in the Lord when we are faced with incredible adversity!!

God wants our applause on a Sunday morning -- but what He values above that is applause of a different sort.

The applause of obedience.

Maybe it's time we all started clapping a little harder.