August 4
UNINHIBITED SPONTANEITY
-Psalm 100:1-2
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing
Have you ever planned a major fun event and then asked yourself, "Are we having fun yet?" Fun in uninhibited spontaneity. Chances are the last time you really had fun it was a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment activity or event. Big events and expensive outings can be fun, but sometimes we plan and spend all the fun right out of them. I've often had a lot more fun in an impromptu pillow fight with my children.
The secret to enjoying uninhibited spontaneity as a Christian is in removing non-scriptural inhibitors. Chief among the inhibitors of Christian fun is our fleshly tendency to keep up appearances. We don't want to look out of place or be thought less of by others, so we stifle our spontaneity with a form of false decorum. That's people-pleasing and Paul suggested that anybody who lives to please people isn't serving Christ (Galatians 1:10).
I really like the uninhibited joy I see in King David, who knew the joy of being in the presence of the Lord. He was so happy about returning the ark to Jerusalem that he leaped and danced before the Lord in celebration. He knew there was joy in the presence of God. But Michal, his party-pooping wife, thought his behavior was unbecoming to a king, and she told him so in no uncertain terms. David said, "Rain on you, lady. I'm dancing to please the Lord, not you or anybody else. And I'm going to keep dancing whether you like it or not" (my paraphrase of 2 Samuel 6:21). As it turned out, Michal was the person God judged in the incident, not David (2 Samuel 6:23). You'll find a lot more joy in pleasing the Lord than in trying to please people.
Frankly, I think it's fun being saved. Being free in Christ means that we are free to be ourselves. We're free from our past, free from trying to live up to other people's expectations, free from sin and the evil one. What a joyful, uninhibited, spontaneous life for those who are free in Christ!
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the joy of serving You, joy that is not detrimental to body, soul or spirit.
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