Brainwashing

A word that seems to be bouncing around at the moment is "brainwashing", specifically relating to Christianity. It isn't something I've thought about in much depth, but I can see where people are coming from. Unless you're in the right frame of mind to get involved in mass worship it's all too easy to step back and think "What's the real motive here?" That's something I often do at church, whether I'm somewhere more traditional and thinking, "Why aren't people more excited about God?!" Or somewhere more charismatic thinking, "Are people really this excited about God?" Or on the rare occasion, loving every minute of it and wanting to give God everything.

So is it brainwashing? Do you have to let yourself be swept along with the hype to be able to worship God in an atmosphere like church or other events? I'm not so sure...

"David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Machal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart...
...When David returned from home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would."
David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel - I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes..."
2 Samuel 6:14-22

Matt Redman calls David an 'undignified worshipper' (see his book The Unquenchable Worshipper). He gives everything to God, lets himself go and, although the whole house of Israel is celebrating and shouting to God, he's still pretty distinctive, so much so that his wife despised him. He stood out from the crowd.

Maybe we've got it wrong in church, expecting everyone to engage with God in the same way. Maybe we're all being sheep and getting swept up in the hype. But hey, if it works for you and you can worship God like that, what's wrong with it? And if it doesn't, find something that does work. Be distinctive! Don't let your suspicion of brainwashing or your need to fit in with the crowd stop you getting down to the real work of giving God everything you've got.