Throw Your Hands Up, Part 1

Why do people raise their hands in church? I mean seriously. Does God not understand that we can worship in our seats? I’m tired. My arms hurt. Did I shave my armpits? Did I put on an appropriate amount of deodorant?

If raising your hands is expected… isn’t that a form of man-made religion? Which means I don’t have to lift my arms. Why should I lift my hands into the air in church? Are you telling me God doesn’t know what’s in my heart?

If I’m asking a question you’ve pondered at some point, then you are in the right place. Welcome to Christian Sanity, where I am your pilot, guide, and navigator. 

You can trust me … Bwahahahaha.

“Throw Your Hands Up” Part 1 delves into Raise your Hands: Answer and Volunteering. Part 2 will bring the final pieces tomorrow. 

Raise Your Hands: Answer

Do you remember the days? The small wooden desks and plastic chairs were a staple of every classroom in America. Old blackboards and massive wooden desks stood like ageless sentries at the front. 

And the smell … frustrated desperation. Or Axe Body Spray and Old Spice. I did warn y’all I’m older, right?

Anyway, we all share a few common memories here. School days, plastic seats with static cling, our buddies low-key talking, and making eyes at our crush while pretending to listen to the teacher. 

Oh, that was just me? Oops. 

Back to the topic at hand. 

Do you know the answer? Throw your hand up and get the recognition! Prove yourself worthy of advancing to the next grade. Validate the teacher’s decision to go into education. You want to share the answer, so you raise your hand when you have the answer. 

What about when you haven’t the slightest clue as to what the answer is? What about the equation to find the correct answer? Do you know what page the textbook needs to be opened to? If the answer is no, then raise that hand! Help me! Point me in the right direction!

What about when you really, really need to use the restroom? Your bladder is near to explosion, or the cramps have you doubled over. Sometimes Lamaze breathing is the only way to hold it in. Or turning a lovely shade of magenta as you hold your breath. I NEED TO POTTY!!! Please call on me and give me permission. Gimme a bathroom pass! 

The point is the Answer is the correct response. Whether you have the answer or need the answer, your arm is raised so the one with the answer will call upon you. 

It’s no different in our Christian walk with our heavenly Father. In these instances, our hands are lifted to either give or receive. Searching the Lord for guidance and comfort or offering God all we have. 

The “Answer” is Giving and Receiving. 

Volunteering

Pick me, pick me! I’ll do it. You can count on me! I want to do it because I’m the best! I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it (if I’m the only one who started singing that in a falsetto, you lie). 

Volunteering falls into three categories: Need, Duty, and Desire. 

Need

What is need? The dictionary says it is a requirement, necessity, or obligation. In essence, a need is something essential, an important thing required for life or living. When someone is in need, they toss their arms into the air and usually jump to their feet too. They don’t want to be missed or ignored. They cannot afford to miss getting their need met. 

How many of us miss our needs being met by God because we are unwilling to jump to our feet or lift our hands? 

And my mother just reiterated to me (as I read this to her) that too often, we classify our “wants” as our “needs.” James says that the reason we don’t receive is because we ask amiss, that we consume it upon our own lusts. In the RLV translation (I’m jesting here), jumping up and down in a spoiled kid tantrum yelling “I want it, I want it, I want it” more than likely will see us grounded, sent to our room, and having all of our perks taken away.

In this James-inspired scenario, God is the parent, and we are the misbehaving child.

Duty

What is duty? The dictionary says it is something to do by moral or legal obligation. A responsibility we choose to take upon ourselves. Why do we celebrate our military on various holidays? Because these men and women made a choice to lay their lives down for their country and her citizens. The people choose to accept the duty and responsibility.

The healthcare field is filled with affluent career paths. But who grows up to be a doctor or nurse because they would bank some mad money? I remember little kids playing doctor to help people. Kids who cared for family or pets who were injured, either in play or reality, often chose a field of duty in healthcare. Not to make it rain but to take away the pain (see what I did there? And it rhymes). 

I sit in my pew at church and find comfort in complacency. The groove on the pew is fitted to my behind from constant use. Cold air blows from the heavenly vent aimed at my seat. And my spot is situated perfectly between the most important locations in the church: the Exit, the Bathroom, and the Coffee. 

Where does duty enter the equation in my daily walk? I’m not choosing to help anyone except myself. There is another word that goes hand in hand with duty. Sacrifice. People who take on the weight of responsibility usually have to sacrifice something. Time, family, friends, home, lucrative jobs, or even their life. 

When was the last time we stood in the gap, willing to face the Enemy to protect others? Have we left our comfort zone and stepped out in faith? Or are we secure in our comfort zone on the back pew? As a back-row of church sitter, I feel it is my duty to point out that you can be in a comfort zone on the front pew.

The trifecta of Volunteering is none other than Desire. 

Desire

What is desire? The dictionary says it is to wish or long for, to crave. Unfettered hunger and passion drive us. We all know that feeling after not eating for half a day and arriving at the buffet. Or being outside with the hot summer sun beating down on you and getting a bottle of cool, delicious water. What about that special someone who said yes, and now you two are out on a date, and you can’t believe it’s real?

Desire can drive us to do incredible things. Or incredibly stupid things. I’m definitely not speaking about myself. Not I. Nope. I’m a very wise and intelligent man, not driven to passionately poor decision-making. 

Let’s move on. 

Can you remember the fervor that filled you after salvation? The emotion swelled like a tidal wave and crashed across you in a spirit-filled torrential flood. And I’m not talking about the weather. In those moments of excitement, we throw our hands up. Or we sometimes throw our bodies down in the presence of the Lord. 

And what do the three aspects of volunteering have in common? All three, Need, Duty, and Desire, require one to be willing to be of Service. Are we willing to serve God and the Kingdom of Heaven?

Conclusion

This first part of “Throw Your Hands Up” focuses on two important facets of raising our hands. Raise your hands is all about the answers. Do we have it? Or are we looking for it? In these times, we must be prepared to pursue the wisdom and heart of God through our search for answers. Other times we must be ready to raise our hands and lead others to the revelation of the true answer. Both aspects of Answers require us to get out of our comfort zone. 

Are we willing to do this?

The second aspect is Volunteering. Will we choose to be of service? Will we answer the call of many? Will we prove to be worthy of being chosen for service (Oooohhhh, there is the next article idea)? The idea is a lofty one. Many of us think of the worthiness of the cause. But many of us balk when we break it down into simple words. 

Serve.

Will we be willing to volunteer to fulfill a need, to take the responsibility of duty, and keep the fires of our desire to serve the Lord stoked? Can we put our wants aside and ask our heavenly Father, “What does He want?”

This concludes part 1. Turn the cassette tape over for part 2. Oh wait, that reference was probably too old. 

In that case, hold on because part 2 will be coming Tomorrow!

See you there as we dive into two more aspects of throwing your hands up.