Praise Him with decent dances

is said King David was gripped with so much joy until he danced with all his heart.
This was after the return of the ark of God to Israel after it had spent several years in the hands of the Philistines following a war between Philistine and Israel.

Also known as the Ark of the Covenant, the ark carried so much meaning to King David and the rest of Israel since it symbolised God’s presence and hope for Israel, a nation that traditionally gained its prosperity by living according to the law of God.
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
“So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet” (2 Samuel 6:14 and 15, King James Version).

Psalm 149:3 and Psalm 150:4 also deal with the subject of music and dance to show how dancing and music connect together in worship for Christians.
“Let them praise His name in the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp” (Psalm 149:3).
“Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs,” reads Psalm 150:4.
On the same subject, in Zimbabwe, one local gospel musician, Pastor Charles Charamba, recorded a song “Kana Ndotamba” which basically encourages dancing as an expression of joy for Christians in worship.

Other verses in the New Testament of the Bible such as Luke 6.23, Luke 15.25 and Matthew 11.17 indicate how dancing as an expression of worship or joy were part of the religious life of early Christians.
In his notes on dancing, Reverend Matthew Henry said dancing or public expression of joy must be used to worship God and gain his approval.
“Public joy must always be as before the Lord, with an eye to him and terminating in him, and must not degenerate into that which is carnal and sensual,” wrote Reverend Matthew Henry.

There is clear evidence from the Bible and music have an important role to play in the life of a believer.
If used appropriately, dancing has the ability to bring more people to church and at the same time improve Christians’ relationship with God.
Some debates around dancing in church probably stem from its abuse by many non-believers who use dancing as a means to demonstrate sexual moves or promote casual sex. In many churches and at gospel concerts, there is clear evidence that the way some believers dance now resembles the way many non-Christians dance to secular music.

While watching a certain Christian television programme on DStv over the weekend, I was surprised to see a certain group performing some traditional dances in church.

These dances which involved waist wriggling carry symbolic meanings of a cultural and sexual nature which in my view have nothing to do with worship.
In Zimbabwe, many Christians have objected to the use of dances such as “Zora Butter”, and “Borrowdale” or “Museve” which originated from sungura music.
This is perhaps due to the fact that the dances have a strong association with revelling and beer drinking which contradict Christian standards of conduct and behaviour. That being the case, Christians who choose to dance in their churches should agree on the type of dances to use and these should not lead to unnecessary distractions as a result of communication of wrong messages which may be offensive to other believers.

On the same point, dancing should be driven by a deep desire to express joy to God instead of being used for entertaining worshippers.