I talked about this with my youth this past weekend, and I feel called to share and expound upon that message.
So, you’re in worship with the church, or at a Christian camp, or at a Christian conference, and a song is played that stirs the emotions. You lift your hands, maybe shed a tear or few, and just have a feeling of…well, you can’t really name what the feeling is, but it’s strong and feels good.
Songs are effective at stirring emotions. Energizing songs fuel a workout. Soft, love tones rouse romance. Female anthems drive “girl power.” I’ve had the same experiences. I mean, one of the first concerts I attended as a teen was Backstreet Boys. When they entered, they literally flew through the air to the stage. It was exhilarating and, oh, so entertaining. So emotional!
Songs—both Christian and secular—are created to do that very thing, evoke strong feeling, so listeners will develop a bond with the song and its singer/band, and entice them to want more. If people didn’t like or love the songs they’re listening to and connect with them, musicians wouldn’t be so famous and make so much money. The same could be said for many modern American preachers. Keep the audience entertained, and they’ll come back for more. They’ll crave more. Why? Because they want to satisfy a temporary fix which appeals to “me”—the self. “It makes me feel good, and those feelings make me feel closer to God.”
People want motivation and something said which speaks to their feel-good emotions.
Not truth. Truth hurts. Nobody wants to hear truth. “Don’t tell me the truth, because I don’t want to hear it…it steps on my toes and makes me feel uncomfortable. It makes me guilty when it calls out my wrongs. It makes me feel deficient when I’m not doing the things I should. But shhh, nobody needs to know or think about that. Especially me.”
Truth can tend to do that, since Satan is the father of lies and leads us to feel comfortable within those lies. Many, though, would rather hear the lies.
But what happens is when we receive and focus on these emotional “highs,” they can become addictive. Like a drug. For Christians, they seek out the next high, next song or message or experience which stirs the emotion and evokes the positive feelings. And when they fail to have that experience, they feel they’re not experiencing God the way they should. They feel there’s a lack of His presence. Therefore, Christians will seek out whatever tickles their ears in order to achieve that emotional high—false teaching, watered-down theology and gospel, and erroneous doctrine. Let me just add here: The phrase “God (or the Holy Spirit) ‘showed up’,” is lacking. God is omnipresent, and Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit. He was and is and is to come. So, if you’re feeling far from God, it’s not because of a lack of His presence, but yours.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with expressing human emotion, that’s why God gave us emotions. When we are convicted of sin, we will feel sorrow (2 Corinthians 7). When we are thankful and full of joy (as Christians should be—Philippians 4:4), it should be expressed. We should worship and praise God through prayer and song, no doubt—whether privately or collectively in orderly worshipª. But when Christianity is based on seeking an emotional experience, that emotional “high” just for the experience, thinking the feelings make them closer to God, it becomes hazardous.
aI’ve heard members of “praise teams” within some churches muttering different things at once (not sure if they’re prayers, or what they think is speaking in “tongues” (babble, really), or what they were saying), but 1 Corinthians 14 reminds us that worship should be orderly, and that God is not a God of confusion, but of peace and order.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS:
Just because something seems to feel good doesn’t mean it’s from God.
I’ve talked many times about false teachings/false teachers. I’ve mentioned a few by name, as they expose themselves by the fruit (or lack thereof) they bear, and I feel called to warn about them.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Although this passage was written for Timothy from Paul when he was imprisoned in Rome, it is still 100% applicable to us today.
New Age, The Prosperity Gospel, Law of Attraction, Word of Faith, Seven Mountain Mandate/NAR (New Apostolic Reformation1), “name it, claim it,” “believe it, receive it,” “declare” this or “decree” that, occult/astrology/witchcraft practices even—all false, dangerous teachings. Some “churches” out there are these megachurches who care more about making church a business (to make money). They create sermons which are nothing more than motivational speeches about “self” with a little Scripture tossed in. They twist Scripture with eisegesis to show how God has “blessed” them (usually concerning finances and material things), among other things.
A huge red flag should go up when we hear teachings which cause people to glorify and focus on self, the material, and the temporary over God, the eternal, and spiritual growth. Focus should be on expository teaching/preaching of God’s Word with proper exegesis (the passage in its original context, its original meaning taking into account historical and literary context and its intended audience) and hermeneutics (proper interpretation for today using exegesis).
I’ve said it before—God’s blessings are not material or financial; they are spiritual (promises of salvation, eternal life, victory over death, Heaven, freedom from sin bondage, etc.). To be “blessed” (makarios) in Scripture usually simply meant happiness (joy and contentment), as we see in The Beatitudes.
Some false teachers (and the musicians that come from these false-teaching churches- a Google search usually reveals which) include: Bethel (and Bill Johnson, Cory Asbury, many from Bethel), Hillsong, Elevation (and Steven Furtick, several musicians), Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Beth Moore, Kenneth Copeland, Richard Rohr, Sarah Young (Jesus Calling devotions), etc.. The list could literally go on, but these are a few that come to mind.
Something else I want to warn about that’s super popular within the Christian church, something which appeals to the emotion and to “self,” is the Enneagram. The Enneagram is an occult—rooted personality test which began as the Enneagon and was described as a diagram for “cosmic reality2.” It was created by a man claiming to be led by automatic writing, which is rooted in demonic witchcraft. It is full of false doctrine because it undermines the authority of Scripture.
There’s really so much to unpack with all these points, and I pray you take it upon yourself to study and seek truth. We are warned so many times in Scripture to be on guard. How can you guard yourself? Pray for discernment (Hebrews 5:14/ Philippians 1:9-10/ Romans 12:2). Test the Spirits (1 John 4). And—most overall–read and study Scripture in proper context. Only by God’s truth found in His Word can we discern Satan’s lies.
And ask yourself this: If you went to gather with the church Sunday, and it was nothing more than a few benches in a shed, and—after prayer, a few theologically-sound hymns were sung a cappella (no lights, no stage, no band, no screen, no effects) and you joined in intimate communion with God by the commanded Last Supper remembrance, partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine—the pastor (teaching Overseer/Elder) taught solely Scripture and its direct meaning, and the focus was on the Triune God—the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, would you be satisfied?
This video is a good watch:
Disclaimer: the views expressed – while some are beneficial for growth – are not 100% my own.
References
1Berean Research. New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Retrieved April 7, 2022, from New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) – Berean Research
2The Origins of the Enneagram The Origins of the Enneagram – Marcia Montenegro – YouTube
Disclaimer: the views expressed among these organizations – while some are beneficial for growth – are not 100% my own.
All Scripture (unless otherwise noted): English Standard Version Bible. 2022. BibleHub.com and
English Standard Version Bible. 2016. Crossway
Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages
Dougherty, Melissa. 2020. The MegaChurch Mega-Mess. Retrieved April 7, 2022 from https://youtu.be/_0QvXOtJ58Q
Dougherty, Melissa. 2022. Do We Practice “Me-ology” Or “Theology”? Retrieved April 7, 2022 from Do We Practice “Me-ology” Or “Theology”? – YouTube
Berean Research, Popular Gospel/Marcia Montenegro, Melissa Dougherty do not sponsor, endorse, or is not affiliated in any way with Lights in the Darkness and its contents.