“I will become even more undignified than this” (2 Samuel 6:22).
You may have heard this verse before, or at least some version of it. You may recognize the words from the song “Undignified” by David Crowder. If you don’t know it, it’s based on 2 Samuel chapter 6 (the story of King David getting rebuked for dancing embarrassingly in front of his kingdom; he replies by stating he will become more undignified than that if it is in worship to the Lord). The song is typically sung in a more upbeat worship setting, usually at a youth conference or a camp. The worship leader will get everyone to dance all crazy-like. Everybody around the room is jumping, clapping, and just going wild. It’s actually a lot of fun!
But I feel like we are missing the point. The song seems to give the word “undignified” a positive connotation. Undignified does not mean fun. Google defines the word as “appearing foolish and unseemly; lacking in dignity.” We are called to worship God, no matter if that means we will look foolish in the eyes of the world. And that does not mean just during a worship set, singing some songs at church. Worship is a lifestyle of obedience. It is an expression of what our priorities are. It is both an attitude and an act.
Our indignity should be what our entire life looks like. Unbelievers should look at Christians like they are fools, like the world saw the early church. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The words “those who are perishing” refer to unbelievers. The message of the cross, i.e., the full revelation of God, the gospel in its fullness, the entire bible, cannot be understood by those who do not have the Holy Spirit in them. Later, in verse 21, Paul states, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” God intended the gospel to sound foolish to the world. He made sure that men could not come to know Him through human wisdom, so He made the gospel simple enough that the “worldly wise” would deem it foolishness. The gospel exalts only God, as it should. It is through faith in Him alone we are saved. No amount of human wisdom can lead to salvation. That would only exalt man.
We are called to be “fools for Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 4:8-13, Paul gets a little sarcastic with the Corinthians. He rebukes the Corinthians for being proud of their earthly accomplishments, and then compares the Corinthians to the apostles. He says the apostles are fools for Christ, weak, dishonored, hungry and thirsty, homeless, the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world. But he also says when they are cursed, they bless; when they are persecuted, they endure it; when they are slandered, they answer kindly. We may look like fools: cursed, persecuted, slandered. But we are called to share the message of Christ nonetheless! He is the way, the truth and the life! We will be undignified; anything else is not demonstrating the gospel in its fullness. But Jesus is worth it. For you, and for whoever you share His gospel with.
Now, you might say, “Us waltzing around looking like fools does not seem like it would draw people to come to Christ,” which is a valid point. In the world, that’s typically how it works. Nobody wants to be undignified. But that’s where the power of God comes in. Like I’ve already stated, God made the gospel simple for a reason. It’s so that we cannot glorify ourselves by comparing how many “conversions” we have gotten. God works in and through us to make His name known. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them” (John 6:44). God will put us and is putting us into the lives of those he is drawing nearer to Him. He is inviting us to join Him in the work he is doing in the lives of those people. All we have to do is accept His invitation and follow His will for our lives, even if that undignifies us.
I have experienced this firsthand. I went into this a little bit in my last blog post (if you haven’t read it, go do so now. You can learn more about why I decided to go on the World Race). For a while now, I have been searching for what my career path should be. I have always been good at math. My entire childhood, people told me that I should be an engineer when I grow up. I (apparently) had a great mind for it. And since that’s what people told me, that’s what I wanted to do. That is, until I took an actual engineering class and realized that I didn’t want to do it at all! I simply didn’t enjoy it. That was my junior year of high school, and it started a chain of countless professions that I decided I wanted to end up in, all of which ended up changing in a few days or weeks. I went into college not knowing what I wanted to do, did three semesters, and left, still not knowing what I wanted to do. For the past year I have been working retail and food service for barely more than minimum wage, all while living with my parents. I have felt lost, like I am not living up to my true potential. I am smart enough to go to college and get a high-end job as an engineer. I could potentially be making a lot of money and be extremely successful in the world’s eyes.
Instead, I have found God’s calling for me. I am going on the World Race! I will going around the world sharing the gospel! Some people pay say I am wasting my potential, and in the world’s eyes I look rather foolish. Some people might wonder why I am “wasting” $19,000 to go out of my comfort zone, especially if those people don’t know Christ like I do. After all, I could be making a lot more money doing something that “benefits society,” but instead I am off living like a poor man by choice, spreading a message that many would say is not even true. As I have been searching for my own will for my life, I have found God’s will instead. He is calling for me to live undignified! I don’t need to live up to the world’s standards. I don’t need to make a lot of money. I want to follow what God has in store for me instead, even at the cost of worldly possessions.
As I am going on the World Race, and in the time leading up to it, God is challenging me to be more bold in declaring my faith. Even if I appear undignified, I am doing it for the purpose of furthering the kingdom of God. God has commanded me to share the gospel, even at the cost of looking foolish, so I will do it, even if it means traveling around the world to share it with those who may never have heard it. I will look especially foolish to them. We have been privileged to grow up in a culture where the gospel can be heard on every street corner. Not only that, but our country was founded on Christian ideals. Most of the countries that my team and I will be going to, especially those in Asia, have had little to no Christian influence in their world, plus a ton of persecution for people who are Christians. As a result, many of them have never even heard of the good news of Jesus Christ. I am prepared to be as undignified as I must in order to spread the message of the cross to the ends of the earth. No matter what God calls me to do, no matter how foolish it makes me look, how far out of my comfort zone it is, I will do it to the best of my ability and have faith that He will do through me what I cannot.
For my first fundraiser, I am selling these t-shirts with “UNDIGNIFIED” written on the front and 2 Samuel 6:22 on the back (the image is below). They are being sold for $20 each and all of the profits go toward my trip! If you are interested in buying shirts, you can contact me with how many and what sizes. Feel free to share it with anyone you think would want one; the more sales the better! I appreciate your support!
