When was the last time you cried because of a TV show or a movie? The answer will depend on the person, but I’d be willing to bet there’s at least one movie that hits you right in the feels. What about laughing? We laugh so hard at shows sometimes that people can hear us from the next room. This is especially true when we’re with friends. We’ll organize watch parties to laugh, cry, or comment about movies, and when we’re watching with other people, we outwardly show our emotions even more than if we were watching it by ourselves. We react to what we are watching. We feel and show emotion over it, even though it isn’t even real.

God’s design is for us to not only feel emotion, but show it outwardly. He created us with facial expressions. He created the outlet of song for us to pour out our joys (Ex. 15:2 – “I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously” — after He parts the Red Sea for the Israelites and drowns the Egyptians). The psalmists repeatedly bid us praise Him. Along those same lines, we are told that confession of belief in Jesus is essential to our salvation (Rom. 10:9). There is something important, according to God, about outwardly professing our inward state of mind.

James 5:13 makes this outpouring a command for Christians. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” I’ve always thought that these were separate commands, and that they didn’t have anything to do with each other. But they’re linked. They each describe an inward experience and emotion, and they say “Let it out. Make it manifest.”

I think sometimes it’s easy to be open with small emotions. A happy dance about food, or an exclamation when we’re annoyed that the TV remote won’t work. But these verses apply to deep, even ‘spiritual’ feelings. We are to take action regarding them, not just sit with them.

That sounds simple. It makes sense. But try to apply it as a modern American Christian and it falls apart. In Bible times, when they grieved, they would physically tear their clothes (Ezra 9:3). They would lift up their voices and weep (1 Sam. 30:4). I don’t know about everyone else, but I am ashamed to cry in public. And as for tearing my clothes? Even at the pinnacle of grief that’s not a thought that crosses my mind. In my own experience, our society doesn’t know what to do with public expressions of deep emotion. So, we keep our emotions to ourselves.

But what about assembling as a congregation to worship the Lord? Here we are meant to pour out our praises and joy. Are we any more expressive here? When was the last time you cried in worship? When was the last time you smiled at the thought of spending eternity with the God who loved you and the brethren for whom Jesus died? It’s possible you’ve never done either. And no wonder. In the churches of Christ we don’t see it done. We have gained a reputation for being emotionless, cold, boring. I think people outside the church have a right to ask how we can sit in a worship service with a vacant expression, since we claim that what we listen to and sing about in that service is the most glorious news to ever bless the earth.

Now, there’s a sense in which the way we act is an expression of respect and reverence. We know that Paul commanded the Corinthians to “let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40) concerning their worship assemblies, because “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” The Lord does not want a worship assembly in which we are all shouting over each other and distracting each other from the reason we are there: to give God praise. We don’t want to be “holy rollers.” I would argue, however, that natural expressions of emotion don’t tend to disturb others. Rolling on the floor or screaming incoherently would be a source of confusion, but most of us don’t roll on the floor or scream to let out our emotions. We use facial expressions, body language, and word choice. I think these are things we as members of the body of Christ could stand to incorporate into our worship individually.

What is the proper balance between expressing emotions in worship service and being distracting? I couldn’t tell you. But I can tell you that I now smile in church when the preacher describes Jesus’s love in coming down to earth. I cry when we sing about Heaven, because a man who was practically my grandfather recently went to his reward, and I can picture him there. I’m taking my baby steps. And it’s embarrassing. When I smile and cry, I feel ridiculous. But now, to me, it’s more ridiculous not to react to things that are real. More real than TV shows, more real than sports, more real than the things we show our emotions about in everyday life. The truths of the Bible are actively shaping me and changing the way I live, and my emotions about them are huge. I’m tired of holding them in, because I don’t think we were designed to.

There’s one more thing to note about James 5:13. Both of the commandments given — pray and sing psalms — instruct us to direct our emotions to a certain place: to God. Why should we pour out our emotions? Because the Lord wants them. He wants us to give them to Him. The Lord of the Universe created us with hearts that can feel, and He cares about us so much that He wants the deepest parts of our hearts, through praise, prayer, and thanksgiving. Heb. 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him [Christ] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

Our emotions weren’t meant to stay in our chests. They were meant to be given as a gift to our Lord and Savior, in response to the immeasurable gifts He has given us.