Sunday Reflection: A Proud God

 

There are things about our modern worship that don't seem to fit with what I see in the Gospels. One of them, a big one, has to do with humility.

When I read what Jesus taught, I see an emphasis on humility, over and over. We are to see the log in our own eye, not the stye in another; we must give serve others to truly lead; the first will be last and the last will be first. It is there in so many parables, and of course in the example of Jesus's life and death itself. 

So we have a faith that is centered on humility. Yet, we seem to imagine a God that requires constant praise, who completely lacks humility. Jesus implores us to love God, which is not the same as to praise him. The modern trend towards praise music at the exclusion of nearly everything else is just one sign of that.

It might be that praise is easy theology. There is no sorting out social issues or fretting about what we can do for the poor or conflicts over the source of our understanding. Many church leaders are all about avoiding conflict by standing on common ground, and they do that through praise theology. 

And, of course, there is an industry-- particularly, a music industry-- built up around this easy theology. 

I just can't imagine a God who needs our praise. What kind of God is that? But the fact that so many do imagine such a God makes it easier to understand how they have conflated God with Donald Trump-- who inarguably does demand praise. 

Of course, there is some role for the praise of God, but it is for our benefit, not God's. Praise reminds us that God is greater than us, which is a root of my own theology. It's simple, but profound. Yet, that needs to be a starting place, not the whole message.