Am I Too Sensitive About Hearing “Praise the Lord”?
(Maybe or maybe not weirdly), I know the answer before I muse on it. Yes. I am. I am super sensitive to it. It has started to (increasingly) grate in my inner girl whenever I hear it. It frustrates me. It brings out my less than gracious side towards its use and towards the one from who I hear it. I can physically feel my insides recoiling as it lands.
Why? I think it’s because (possibly always wrongly, possibly sometimes wrongly) I think I perceive why it is being used by whoever said it. Am I going to be always right about the real intent of its use? Of course not. But initially (at least), I assume I am right.
The issue: If I even pick up the slightest nuance (which may or may not be intended by the deliverer of the phrase and may not even be true), that they are trying to either prove to me or prove to themselves that this outcome (the one that prompted the “Praise the Lord” response) is either evidencing God’s working or is evidencing God’s existence, I feel the internal response I described.
It annoys me.
Does it annoy me that they are wanting to thank God for it or to remind themselves He does ‘do’ stuff? No. Not at all. Not even slightly is that the issue. They can thank God for whatever they like as frequently as they like and in whatever way they choose to thank Him, between them and Him. There is not a single issue with any of that. None. Not even half an issue. In fact, I would go as far as to say, the more internal gratitude any of us have, the better it is always for us. The gratitude thing (which is, in part as I see it, linked to the praising God thing) is a phenomenally marvellous thing.
Adding in a bit of Bible Verse Ping pong, (except this will be the ping and there’s not really an opportunity for a counter argument to return as the pong…so it’s bible ping), Paul in Ephesians takes this to an extreme, but one I can see could be considered as wise:
“Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20, NIV)
So, to be clear, before I rant on, the issue is not with an attitude of gratitude (as many Christians often term it…and, by the way (even if it is of little or no interest), I quite like that phraseology because of the syllable structure of 1, 3, 1, 3, the rhythm and the rhyme). You’re not likely to hear me saying it out loud, but I like it inside myself.
The issue is the using “Praise the Lord” in my hearing as a way of delivering the underlying message that I am somehow being forced to notice that God is or that He has done something particular.
I realise I’m on tricky theological ground here. The bible is quite clear in several places, and here is one example (another bible ping, if you like):
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.” (Psalm 105:1-2, NIV)
The issue is not rooted in the praise of God or the thankful thing. It is purely and only concerning the ‘why’ that the person said it. That’s the issue. Not the words, not the incident or act or outcome that caused the appearance of it as a statement, but the underlying motivation for why it was said.
Will some be genuinely doing just as they say? I’m sure some will. Yes.
But for many Christians, how many of us have been taught from the pulpit (or from Christian mentors) that this ‘witness’ is powerful and we must publicly give God the praise for whatever He does as a way of winning people to Him? I have a feeling it’s a lot of us if we’ve been in church for much time at all. Does this approach have weight as a ‘witnessing’ tool? I don’t have much data to be able to know either way, but I’ve not yet heard of anyone coming to faith because of someone saying, “Praise the Lord”. Maybe you have heard of such conversions, in which case, that is one reason why it is wise for you to disregard my musings on this matter. Maybe my thinking on it will change as I learn more. Maybe.
I wonder if all people (autists, yes, but in this context, I mean ALL people) more regularly see through the words they hear to the intention beneath the words that are used. I think as a human race, we have more capability and capacity to see the truth behind what is presented than we give ourselves (or others) credit for.
What if, as others sense there is an underlying manipulation (of sorts) going on behind the “praise the Lord” that they then repel (in magnetic terms)? What if they react as I do? Oh my. That would be less than ideal, wouldn’t it?
I’m super sensitive to those underlying messages (which I realise I don’t always read correctly) and I am very sure I’m not alone in that super-sensitivity. We sense it when others do it to us. We just sense it. It’s almost tangible sometimes. Which I guess leads onto a question. Do we think about the underlying messages we are sending when we engage with others alongside whatever it is we are saying? (That’s rhetorical, and I’m guessing the answer is that sometimes we do consider what we are 'giving off', and sometimes less so.)
Something I am more and more recognising is this…and I am thinking it will be true for many more people than just me: I am magnetised to what I perceive to be genuine. I am magnetised more readily to people as they deliver what I perceive to be more authentic words and seem to be living a more authentic life. I am drawn to those who seem less concerned with how it looks (or how others will judge how it looks), what it sounds like or how it seems, and more intent on living it how it truly is (or at least learning to try and live it how it is).
Maybe that’s the way to go. It’s an aim. I reckon there’s something ridiculously weighty and important in this authenticity thing.