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Preach It, James!

5 Spiritual Nuggets Of Wisdom From British Soul Singer James Morrison

5. "This is precious love, precious love/No, I can't get enough."

4. "Like holy water/Washin' over me/You make it real for me."

3. "You always give me somewhere/Somewhere I can run."

2. "If you're here with me/I know which way to turn."

1. "If your sky is fallin'/Just take my hand and hold it/You don't have to be alone, alone/Yeah, I won't let you go."

There is more than a haphazard connection between God's covenant love for His people, and marital and sexual intimacy. Paging St. Paul! (Ephesians 5:25-27) So if we want to raise a fuss about liturgy because a certain form does not conform to the rubrics in Vatican II, or that it clouds the purpose for which we have come (musically or otherwise), I'm cool with that, to a point. But let's seriously not say we shouldn't do it a certain way because it's "emotional" or "sappy." Whatever that means. You can also say that emotions get in the way of knowing God, and therefore, truly loving Him, and that could be true. But I think some people are just afraid of feelings. They are secretly envious of expressive, emotional people, and so they attack them.

On the other hand, less emotional people have good ways to demonstrate their love for God and others. These people are the ones who just hand you what you need right when you need it. They organize things behind the scenes to make you look good. I have a college buddy like that. Adam Baer is his name. It'd have gone thankless, but for the fact that he was always there, doing Adam things. Sooner or later, you notice, even if he doesn't want you to. I know like 30 people who can tell that same story.

So challenge yourself: Are you disdainful of some spiritual activity because of a fear of intimacy with God? Do you criticize something or someone because you are jealous of his or her temperament, or--gasp!--the truth that they may be holier than you? Tell you what: I'll certainly be careful next time I criticize a song because it sounds like an ode to a girlfriend or boyfriend. Just sayin.'

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