• Dene's Blog
  • About Dene
  • Contact Dene
  • Dene's Recipes
  • Dene's Books
  • Dene's Classbooks
  • Gallery
  • Recommended Sites
  • FAQ & Tutorial
  Flight Paths

Dignity or Passion

3/23/2021

0 Comments

 
Keith began losing his hearing in his early 20’s.  He received his first hearing aid when he was 27, and we had only been married 6 months.  At this point, over 45 years later, the doctors say he is now “profoundly deaf,” which means he has reached the 90% mark.  He can stand next to the phone and not hear it ring.  He can wash his face, reach for the towel, and walk out of the bathroom, not realizing the water is still running full blast.  He has a tendency to be loud and sometimes monotone because he can no longer hear himself or his tone of voice.  If he were home alone and a fire broke out while he was asleep, he would not hear the smoke alarm even though it hangs right outside our bedroom door. 
            He used to play the violin more than passably well, but violin requires an ear.  He used to lead singing, but now he changes key in the middle of a phrase without realizing it.  He can no longer hear prayers, sermons, announcements, or comments in Bible classes without reading lips. Hearing is a constant crossword puzzle where his mind fills in the blanks left by his hearing and lip reading –often creating humorous misunderstandings, but that is another story.  All this means that in order to hear he must work hard.  You think a conversation with friends is relaxing. For him it is exhausting.  If he is not feeling well or is already tired, he cannot hear at all, period, because he is not up to the wearying chore of having to “listen” to all the other things he must besides words.
            All of this breaks my heart because I can foresee a time when this man, who loves Jehovah God and his word more than life itself, will no longer be able to actively participate in the group worship of his brethren.  Michal, the wife of David, would be thrilled to be in my shoes—to have a husband who, very soon, could no longer worship God with passion.
            She was Saul’s daughter, a princess royal and now a king’s wife, enamored with the dignity of her position.  How do I know?  Look at 2 Sam 6.  She was married to a man who loved God with all his heart, a man who wrote poetry to God by the yard and sang to Him every day.  Mothers, here is the role model for your little boys.  David was a man’s man in every sense of the word—a warrior king who killed wild animals practically bare-handed, and engaged in heart-pounding, daring battles with the enemies of God--but a man who did not believe that religion made him a sissy.
            After David captured Jerusalem, he brought the ark of Jehovah in, and was so thrilled that his passionate worship had him dancing in the street.  Michal saw him from her window, and later scolded him, “How you distinguished yourself in front of the maidens of Israel today, like any other common man in the streets!”
            David answered, It was the Lord who chose me above your father…I will celebrate before the Lord.  I will become even more undignified than this—I will humiliate myself in my own eyes, but by these same slave girls I will be held in honor.  David understood two things.  First, that it was not his dignity Michal was worried about, it was hers. And second, God demands that pride be left behind when we worship him.  God wants worship with passion.  Despite what you may have heard about the Old Law, he always has.  If I let my pride hold me back, I may as well not bother.  I have always found it interesting that the passage telling us to do things “decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40) is in the same context as the one that makes it plain that amens from the assembly were the rule not the exception (v 16).
            Do you elbow your husband when he says, “Amen?”  Do you shush him when he sings loudly because you think he is off-key?  Is that any different than Michal?  If you have found a man who understands that faith has nothing to do with weakness and everything to do with strength, who loves the Lord enough to humble himself and worship unashamedly, praise God for your good fortune and encourage him in his worship.  You never know when he might no longer be able to do so.
 
As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?  My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is your God?  These things I remember and pour out my soul within me, how I went with the throng and led them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday. Psalm 42:1-4
 
Dene Ward
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Author
    Dene Ward has taught the Bible for more than  forty years, spoken at women’s retreats and lectureships, and has written both devotional books and class materials. She lives in Lake Butler, Florida, with her husband Keith.


    Categories

    All
    A Wives Series
    Bible People
    Bible Study
    Birds & Animals
    Book Reviews
    Camping
    Children
    Cooking Kitchen
    Country Life
    Discipleship
    Everyday Living
    Faith
    Family
    Gardening
    Grace
    Guest Writer
    History
    Holiness
    Humility Unity
    Materialism
    Medical
    Music
    Prayer
    Psalms
    Salvation
    Trials

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly