Sycamore

Found this quote in my reading for my thesis on spirituality:

“In the ancient period of Church History, mysticism was most intimately concerned with the object of the experience, namely God, rather than the event itself; however this trend slowly changed as ‘later spiritual guides will tend almost unavoidably to identify the experiences themselves rather than the divine source of the experiences as the principle object of the spiritual life.’ This shift in focus creates a fundamental change in the entire practice of mysticism, so that eventually mysticism in many minds becomes little more than ‘an inner drama enacted by the mystic’s exquisitely refined feelings on the stage of the interior self.’” - Daniel Wigner

The above is scholar-speak for the simple truth that many people, over time, start to talk more about the “experience of God” than God Himself.  Most people in church today don’t consider themselves ‘mystics,’ but I think this truth applies to all of us.  How many people have come to church because they “love the worship” - and by that they mean they really want the “experience” of worshipping God?  How many love listening to sermons on podcasts because they really want the “experience” of learning God’s Word?

You can’t really separate God from the experience of being around Him (anymore than you can separate your friend from the “experience” of having a conversation with her).  However, you can very easily start to use God as a means to get the “experience” you want, without caring much for Him at all (much like hanging out with a friend just as an excuse to hang out at your favorite coffee shop).

It’s not wrong to enjoy the experience of worshipping God in song.  But when you forget that the experience of singing to God is about your relationship with God - and not your relationship with singing - you’ve missed it entirely.  And this applies to prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, just about everything in the Christian life.