LEN'S LINES -- A Little Religion On A Positive Note By Len Granger
Should we dance in the New Year?
As the New Year arrives in a few days, I recall the celebrations when watching TV and see the many people all around the world perform all kinds of dances. They have always attracted my attention even though the churches that I have attended over the years frown upon dancing. So thought maybe the Bible had some instruction for its readers and will see the direction we should take?
We see where the Bible has provided many themes and topics for their dances with Biblical characters, heroes and heroines, kings and sinners, --and all kinds of stories. The tense type of story telling especially in the Old Testament is often found to be abounding with physical action and moral issues. The often quoted story of Salome who danced before King Herod to Queen of Sheba the art of dancing was considered profane. We see there are eleven biblical Hebrew terms used for dance which range all over the identification of dancing.
Even King David, we see in 2 Samuel Verses 14 to 16 danced. " Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and Davis was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord and she despised him in her heart." A lot has been said about David, a man of God, dancing and it is often wondered what type of dancing it was? I have a song titled " And David Danced The Polka" which declares all other music and dance was not appropriate. During college I played in a German Polka Band for concerts, Senior Citizen Homes, and think just maybe King David might have enjoyed that lively music to celebrate the arrival of the Ark.
We also see in the old testament book of Ecclesiaster Chapter 3 verse 1 "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven, verse 4, A time to weep, and a time to laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance." As a young airman in the Air Force going through basic training, we had a Saturday free to go to town. A bus was going to the USO Dance put on by the Hayward, California High School girls and I against my better judgment got on the bus. At the dance a beautiful girl and one of the best dancers attracted all my fellow airmen and was full of life. I was a wall flower as never danced but was able to talk with the girl. After an hour as she rested, she surprised me with, " Would you like to come to my house and meet my folks. as they are going to pick me up?" It was love at first sight and six months later we were married with a church wedding. I never learned to dance, but we had 55 years of Christian living, as we raised six children and traveled the world together during our Air Force career.
Maybe this year as I will be celebrating 80 years of life I may dance but not as King David did with shouting and twisting. I hear the slow dance called the Two Step, I might be able to handle. Just two steps forward and two steps backward.
We pray this Sunday morning, New Years Day, we will all be in the church of our choice singing and praising our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God Bless America
Dancing is a manifestation of joy and so i do not see anything wrong with dancing for God with all my strength.
the biblical David is always refered to as A MAN AFTER GOD'S HEART. he was a friend of God! David discoved the secret of pleasing God and that was through praising him. In 2samuel, the fact that God punished David's wife is evidence that God was pleased with David and not with David's wife who was 'embarrased by what he was doing'. so i think that christians should dance especially if the dance glorifies and pleases God.
