I think I’ve mentioned before that our roof leaks…enough so that when we have a pretty good rain, we have to put our bowls out to catch the steady stream of water. I’m not sure wh
y we always do this…we have tile floors, but somehow, I just can’t let the water sit on the floor. So, when we first start seeing the puddles appear, we go through the routine of placing the various colored bowls throughout the house. They add an air of festivity...or that's what I've been telling myself. Today’s surprise…three new leaks! We now can add to our previous eight, one in our bathroom, one in the pantry and one in the hallway leading to the laundry room. I’ve run out of colorful bowls! The sense of festivity seems to be waning…Our home church is celebrating their last day of Global Impact Celebration…there have been missionaries from all over the world converging on Cassville, MO the last few days. We are so excited for everyone there…GIC has always been one of our favorite times. We have been praying for the M”s and for FBC and we know that the blessings have been abounding! God always uses this time in such an amazing way to remind His children of His love for those who have yet to come to know Him.
GIC has a special place in our hearts…we love the stories of how God’s working all over the world and in some of the most unexpected places and ways, but there’s another reason we hold that event near and dear to our hearts. One of the first GICs we had some years back was instrumental in where we are today. I remember telling Jim that I didn’t care where we went for a “short term” mission trip but I didn’t want to go somewhere where they spoke Spanish! That reminds me of what Nancy said about going to Africa!!! I think there’s a lesson there in exercising caution in what we say we will or won’t do. So where am I? Certainly not on a short term mission trip…and most certainly sitting in the heart of Spanish-speaking Latin America! I think back to my arrogance and naivety in trying to tell God how and where I would serve Him…thankfully, He is a patient God and full of mercy!
I was reminded of that this morning on our way home from church. We have been attending the International Church here in Managua and have thoroughly enjoyed hearing sermons in English. During the time of greeting and fellowship, we were visiting with a gentleman and his wife who have been serving in Costa Rica and just recently moved here to do church planting. We had met him last week and he had told us he was going to leave the service a bit early so he could go attend a church he had heard about…Verbo, a Spanish speaking church. We told him we had been attending Verbo up until recently and he asked us how we liked it. We told him it was a great church but right now, we needed to hear God’s Word in an understandable language.
When we saw him this morning, we asked him what he thought of the services last week at Verbo. He proceeded to tell us that he couldn’t get past the loud music. If you remember, I have talked about that before…it does have kind of a Salsa feel to it and it certainly is loud...but, we are in Nicaragua. So, we could understand how that could be a bit different if someone wasn’t used to it. But his next comments made me feel a bit queasy in my core. He said that no one could worship to that and that when music was so loud that you couldn’t hear the people singing, then it was just a performance. He then said that this was definitely an area that needed to be transformed in the churches of Nicaragua. Thankfully, it was at that moment that the music began for our next worship song and we all had to return to our seats. The song was “Blessed Be Your Name”…obviously, familiar and lacking any accompanying bongos or saxophones…I’m sure it was acceptable to everyone there.
That conversation bothered me a lot. During the time of offering, I closed my eyes and asked God to help me understand why I was so uneasy about what had transpired. And what He put before me was a picture of David, leaping and dancing before the Lord, unabashedly and unashamedly worshiping with his whole body, from head to toe, giving praise to His glorious God. David’s wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul, who had seen his jubilant display, chastised him for such undignified behavior which she saw as unbecoming for a king. God dealt with Michal. (2 Samuel 6:16-23)
Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
Through that brief mental image, God spoke to me that we need to be careful in being so quick to judge that which is different. That is a daily lesson for us here in Nicaragua. Life here is different, but that does not necessarily equate to wrong. Because someone chooses to worship differently than the manner in which we are accustomed, does not mean they are wrong or insincere. What it does mean is our own focus is wrong. We are incapable of judging the true motives of a person’s heart. Only God can do that.
If we were honest with ourselves, who of us at some point hasn’t practiced repeatedly, a song, a speech, a drama reading, perhaps, even a prayer, so that we wouldn’t “blow it” in front of our congregation, Sunday school class or Bible study group? Whether it was for praise or in hopes we wouldn’t be criticized, weren’t we also performing in one way or another? Shouldn’t instead, our priorities have been for our audience of One? I read something the other day that I thought to be pretty profound. Actually I think it was on a t-shirt or something…always a great place to find good theology. It said, “Never look down on anyone. God is the only one who sits high enough to do that!”
On the way home from church, Jim and I were discussing the gentleman and his assessment of Verbo. We agreed that it was a sad statement on so many different levels. I told Jim that I believe God is probably much more displeased with the critical attitudes of His children towards one another than with the decibel count or style of music being offered up to Him in praise and worship. The words were no sooner out of my mouth than God nudged my conscience and reminded me I needed to be faithful in applying that truth in all aspects of my own walk with Him. Wow…how did that happen??? We were talking about the guy at church…when did the focus shift to me??? It’s so easy to get off track, isn’t it?
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