Hard-wired for praise
We are at a new location this last week of camp. I didn’t know this before I arrived, but I quickly learned that there are ice cream cones here.
It’s the second day, and I’ve already had three.
As I’m sitting to write, I have ice cream on the brain, so I’ve decided to run with it.
I’ve shared this before; sorry to those who have already heard this story, but I felt like it was worth repeating.
Several years ago, I went to get a milkshake with my family. We went somewhere we’d never been before, and as I received my glorious cup of yum and took the first sip, I suddenly found myself exclaiming with joy.
“This milkshake is amazing!”
It was a holy moment for my tastebuds and my spirit. The tastebuds for obvious reasons, but my spirit was equally blessed because I had recently spent some time meditating on Psalm 63:3.
“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.”
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
That little milkshake moment stirred thoughts in me about the nature of praise.
Why did I feel the need to exclaim about the small glory of this milkshake?
C.S. Lewis gives a pretty compelling answer to why we must praise.
“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.”
There are many reasons why we should worship and praise God, but one of them is that we are hard-wired for it. God created us in such a way that it’s like we can’t fully enjoy something until we exclaim about it.
It seems to me that David understood this. That’s why he said, my lips will praise You.
I mean, if you thought something was better than life wouldn’t you exclaim about it? Would you be compelled to praise?
I used to share this story with the kids every year at camp because I think it’s important to know the many reasons why worship, praise, and singing to God are important.
One of the reasons why it’s important to praise God is so that we can complete our enjoyment in Him.
In a camp context, the kids are learning about the steadfast love of God throughout the day. It’s one of the greatest honors of my life to provide an outlet for any pent-up joy in God that needs to be expressed so that He can be fully enjoyed.
Thanks for joining me on this ice-cream inspired journey into my thoughts on praise. I must now go grab a fourth cone so that I can get an adequate picture for this post.
I’m not sad about it.
