Paul’s got feelings, and so do you
by Emma Strelan
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So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Heart versus head. Thinking versus feeling. Emotion versus logic. Spirit versus understanding.
Finding the balance between these two ‘sides’ of us feels like a constant challenge. We all seem to swing one way or the other. And even in couples, there’s usually the ‘emotional’ one and the ‘logical’ one. (I hate to admit I’m the ‘emotional’ one!)
I’m not always very good at actually processing the words I sing during worship. I can easily just sing a song and think about how nice the music makes me feel. If it’s got a good tune, I may not even notice what the main themes of the song are.
On the other hand, when we say our creeds and liturgy, I often don’t feel like I really mean the words. I know exactly what I’m saying, but it certainly doesn’t always feel like worship. Even the corporate prayers we say together, like responsive psalms, tend to just roll off my tongue like a monotone school kid reciting their times tables before they’re allowed to go to lunch.
Paul seems to be grappling with this same thing here. He wants to bring these two approaches into the very heart of faith, into the most intimate and personal aspect of being a Christian – prayer. He points out that we can live and pray in both spirit and understanding.
In this part of 1 Corinthians, Paul deals with order in worship. His intention is to illustrate and define Christian worship that is balanced between the Spirit’s guidance, established formats, and participation of the people.
The good part about liturgy is that it’s been created to include different elements and ways of engaging in worship. The trouble comes when we forget the engaging part. In other words, the gospel. It’s not up to the pastor or church leaders to ensure worship stays engaging. It’s up to us to allow both our hearts and our minds to pray, sing, confess, lament, rejoice and praise.
I encourage you to do one of two things today: find a worship song you haven’t paid attention to the lyrics of before, and really listen to it (then sing it with meaning if you can). Or, whip out your Luther’s Small Catechism or an old service order, and read one of the faith statements or creeds and pray it intentionally and with your heart.
God of spirit and understanding, it is sometimes a struggle for us to balance these things. But we take comfort in Paul’s words to pray and sing with our hearts and minds. You are the greatest demonstration of mind and spirit, and you have imparted the gift of intellect and feeling to us, so we thank you for that. We offer these both to you today. Amen.
Emma lives in Adelaide and is studying a Master of Divinity at Tabor College. She also works as a freelance videographer, filming weddings, events and factual videos. She’s currently trying to work out how these two passions can fit together. Emma has a heart for youth camping ministry and for effectively communicating Christian concepts to the younger generations. Despite being in her early 20s, she’s a self-confessed grandma who loves reading, gardening, embroidery, cardigans and drinking tea.
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