On Girlfriends & Wives, Praise & Worship...


I was thinking about praise and worship and how similar they are to girlfriends and wives. Personally, I’m not much of a praise person. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t move my body in dance to save myself, especially when there are others around me…. But when the world quiets down and it’s just me, I find my rhythm… Anyway, I’m more of a worship person, and it doesn’t rest entirely on the fact that I can’t dance. I just love to raise my hands, surrendered, connected and lost in the love of the father and mine for Him.

Everybody can praise. A girlfriend and a concubine would praise a man to the highest heaven and do the duck dance and a personalized version of the azonto for him as long as she keeps getting what she wants, as long as its fun. So, say he’s short, black, with a nose like… well like the kind of nose everyone loves to make fun of, and a pot belly for the world, married with kids and a whole truck load of bad breath trailing his every word… the girlfriends would praise him still and call him sweet names, and do a little dance for him. That’s until the gifts stop coming and then he’s just an ugly old man to her and she’s gone to the next person who can take care of her… Praise hardly ever comes from the heart for most people, it’s a headwork, and thus it’s easy to detach yourself emotionally from it.

But a wife worships!!!! A good wife is such a worshiper. She takes care of her husbands needs, goes beyond praising him for what she gets or intends to get from him. She dedicates herself to her husband and does all she can out of her love for him.
She isn’t all about what she gets. She’s all about pouring her heart out to love the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with. Thus for better of worse is a vow she understands and cleaves to no matter how hard it is.

There are loads of girlfriends in the church. When the music plays just right, they're all happy to do the dances and shout the loudest, but their praises stop when their needs are not met, when God ‘fails’ to grant them their request. That’s when they move on to the next alternative… you’ll be surprised at the number of Christians who still consult native doctors for solutions while they use the church as a cover for what they do.

Love wisdom like a sister;
Make insight a beloved member of your family.
Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.
Proverbs 7:4-5
Be the true bride of Christ, worship Him in Spirit and truth, and show Him you love Him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health your heart spills out your love for Him and your trust in Him…
We are told that we are the bride of Christ, are you really… Or are you just a girlfriend, ready to ‘flatter’ like the promiscuous woman and bolt when the tough times come calling?

Praise is great, don’t get me wrong, I just feel there’s less heart connection in it than worship… in my opinion! 
 

Comments

  1. I think for the first time ever, I will have to disagree with you. Praise isn't really praise if it doesn't come from the heart. It is just empty words and dance.

    When you praise, as in real praise, God Himself comes down and inhabits our praises. At that point, anything, absolutely anything can happen. That is why many miracles happen in praise sessions.

    Real praise is soo strong, that ehhhnnn... it will take a lot to cover this topic.

    Your analogy this time, doesn't do justice at all.

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    Replies
    1. Hi @ilola. I'm not disputing the importance of praise. I'm just saying it's easy for anyone to praise. Have u gone to a church where the praise session is a party that is just a party? Everyone is doing it and attention is shifted from God to how the next person is dancing, hardly thinking abt the words you're singing, even I get distracted during praise some times. but with worship...your focus is just God... And God alone. If you notice during worship, you see loads of people just standing and staring because at that moment they're clueless at what to do, they prefer the excitement of praise, worship bores them. Like I said, it's easier for your heart to be connected during worship than during praise... But that's just one lady's opinion.

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  2. i think the comparism is in context to what obtains in our regular Nigerian church with distinctive 'praise' and 'worship' sessions. and yes i too get distracted sometimes and have had to go through the motions at other times.

    ...a wife worships* like much*

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  3. With new dancing trends e.g azonto and the current naija kind of music that infuses pop, Afro beat, is increasingly difficult to focus during praise which in Joys context refers to up beat music sang in church. I remember some years back when makosa was the craze during "praise" almost everyone developed bow legs and bow hands as the praise leader shouted "luwaay! luwaay!! luwaay!!!. I totally agree with Joy that with worship songs (slow songs) it is easier to focus on the words and connect to God. I am yet to here a worship song that sounds like " kukere" or "Oliver Twist" lol.
    @ene yes it's a nigerian thing

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