Moderns tend to view emotions as inevitable. We cannot help what we feel. Paul says, “Not so fast.” Throughout Paul’s epistles he encourages us to feel certain things and to not feel other things. One of the best examples is Romans 12:15 where Paul encourages us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Here are two expressions of emotion that Paul commands us to feel. Come on Paul, you know I cannot just conjure up weeping! There are numerous other examples as well. Our emotions are not a runaway semi careening towards the bottom of the hill. We are to corral our emotions, to discipline them, so that we feel what is appropriate to each circumstance. There are times we are supposed to feel anger, joy, love, etc. Christians often speak of training our minds to think righteous thoughts (Romans 12:2), but we do not speak of training our emotions to feel righteous feelings (Romans 12:10-12). Our whole life is to be brought into conformity to God’s Word, including our emotions.
One of the main ways we learn emotional discipline is through a fixed liturgy (worship service) that includes a variety of tones. At my church, we walk through the same basic pattern every week in worship. God calls us. We confess our sins. We hear God’s Word read and preached. We eat together at the Lord’s Supper. Finally we leave with God’s blessing to go out and bless the world with the gospel. Each step has its own tone. The call is exciting, the confession of sin more sad, the forgiveness of sins is filled with joy, and so on. The tone is not dictated by the feelings of the person in the pew or by the pastor. The tone is dictated by what we are supposed to feel at each part of the worship service.
When we enter God’s presence we should be excited that God has called us into his presence. We may not feel excited when we enter God’s house. We may feel discouraged or distracted or apathetic. Yet the minister does not change the call to worship to match our feelings. At our church the call to worship is a Scripture reading usually followed by a response of the people. Here is one example. I read Psalm 96:1-4 and then we have this exchange:
Minister: In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
People: Amen! Matthew 28:19
Minister: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
People: And also to you. Romans 1:7
Minister: I will sing unto the Lord
People: For He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6
The congregation (or the minister) may not feel like they are getting grace and peace from God. They may not feel like God has dealt bountifully with them. But their feelings do not dictate truth. God does. By opening our service this way, the minister is saying, “This is what you are supposed to feel because this is truth.” He is saying bring your emotions in line with the truth.
The same could be said of each part of our worship service. We kneel each week and confess our sins. Does every member of my congregation feel like they are sinner each week? Do we always want to get down and declare “Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep?” Well no, of course not. After we get done publicly reading God’s Word the whole congregation says, “Thanks be to God.” Do we always feel like giving thanks for God’s Word? Maybe the reading was too long, too boring, or I just don’t want to hear God’s Word this week. On one level that does not matter. We are to be thankful for God’s Word no matter how we feel. More than that we are train our emotions to be thankful for the Word. We may not feel like eating the Lord’s Supper with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we do it anyway. We may not feel blessed by God at the end of service and yet a benediction (blessing) from God comes anyway whether we want one or not. Why? Because how we feel at the end does not dictate the truth.
A good liturgy will force us to examine our emotions. We will have to do and say things we don’t feel like doing. But a good liturgy should do more. It should train us to feel what we ought to feel when we are confronted with our sin, God’s Word, our brothers, and interacting with the world. A consistent liturgy with the proper Biblical tone for each part will discipline us emotionally. We will not just learn to think Biblically, but we will are also learn to feel Biblically. A good liturgy will help bring our emotions in line with the reality of God’s Word.<>
[…] Peter Jones has a very interesting blog post this week on the value of a set liturgy. If you’re not from a more formal religious tradition, then this will actually probably impact you MORE. He makes some great points. (I’ve actually forwarded this to several people and have yet to get feedback – frankly I think most people have never considered the perspective Peter is offering). […]