I’m sitting in my office preparing some things while there is a group of women in the other room counting pennies that will go towards supporting people who are blind in third world countries. To say they are enjoying themselves would be an understatement. I hear talking, laughing, clapping, and even singing. And I sit here, doing my work and smiling, blessed by the joy coming from that room. At the same time, I’m reading a post by a pastor, church leader, a media outlet, or some random guy on Facebook, sharing their serious opinions about acceptance, morals, structure, philosophy, or politics.
And I just had a thought, why are Christians so serious these days and when did their opinion become more important than loving each other?
When I read the Pentecost account, there is a specific verse that describes the disciples of Christ that gives me pause. I paraphrase it here: “Those disciples are weird. When they get together, they love on one another so much, say weird things, and are so happy that I can’t tell if they’re drunk or not.” -Paraphrase of Acts 2:13. Apparently, the Spirit in people causes them to act differently.
When was the last time you were around a drunk person, in particular a “happy one”? This might be an odd question because many folks within the church would critique a disciple of Christ for being around an inebriated person. But someone who is drunk lose their inhibitions. If they are a “happy drunk” you will find that the simplest thing will make them laugh hysterically. Many will sing for no reason (probably Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places”). Others will lose the ability to understand “personal space” to share something incredibly funny or personal. And there are no reservations of doing any of these things, even if what they tell you is embarrassing, or incriminating.
Now being a disciple of Christ and a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene, I do not believe that alcohol is something we should partake to satisfy ourselves. But I can think of a person that Jesus raised as an example of faith that are very similar to someone who has lost their inhibitions to alcohol.
When was the last time a child grabbed you by the face, hugged you randomly, sang at the top of their lungs (regardless of their intonation), told you something that would be embarrassing if they were a mature adult? Children are the most joyful people in the world because the philosophies and social expectations of the world have not been solidly ingrained in their minds. Children trust unabashedly, laugh uncontrollably, and sing randomly because, well, they’re free from all the things we learn as we get older.
The amazing characteristic of following Jesus is being defined by Christ instead of all the social expectations, financial woes, and philosophies of the day. And when you are defined by Christ, all those other things fade, and you are able to embrace life. Embracing life doesn’t mean there aren’t problems, but you’re able to embrace all of life as a gift. Just like a toy you get as a gift as a child, you embrace it to the point of it even breaking, and yet you still love it and enjoy it even if the toy car is missing a wheel or the plush bear with a torn arm. And if the gift of life by Christ is embraced, we become overly joyful, like a child (or a “happy drunk”).
The story of God, which is full of joy, is being stamped out by our seriousness. This isn’t just evident online, it’s seen in our Sunday services, in the way we talk to one another in our churches, our small groups, our life together. People come with serious business on their minds. They see the service as an essential check mark to their journey with God. They see the pastors as overseers of church business instead of friends to talk to about the silliest of things. They see the small group as a place of Bible study, instead of simply being together, sharing experiences together over a meal.
We need to get back to being kids, laughing with one another, singing uncontrollably with one another, eating and sharing life together. And I say this as being a person who loves to get business done and has plenty of opinions. So I’m talking to myself here. We need to start having fun and being honest with one another, unafraid of judgments (because of love). We need to stop playing the social game with people and play an actual game with one another. We need to just sit, around a fire, a table, telling the stories that make us happy and make us suffer.
If we get to that point of uncontrollable joy, and start being mistaken as drunks, then maybe we’ll living into the identity of being Spirit-filled disciples of Christ more than we have in years.
-M
