The unwritten rules of masculine conduct teach that men are to show little to no emotion. Emotion equals weakness and weakness equals sissy. The action heroes we have all grown up with are stone cold and self reliant. They're lone rangers who don't need anyone or anything. Nothing can penetrate their hearts because they already have all they need. Though they may help people in dire circumstances, they themselves never need the favor returned.
"I don't need to be touched in my heart; in fact, I won't allow anyone to even have a glimpse of my heart". At the code of this mentality is Pride. Pride closes the heart and doesn't allow entrance. This is not the same as a persons who has shut down their heart because of pain. Prideful people honestly believe they don't need to be touched on a heart level by anyone. And this attitude produces some deeply destructive mind-sets.
The God we believe in certainly didn't need anyone. He was an island into himself. It was either God's way or the highway. It was okay for God to be prideful because He was perfect. After all, it's not considered prideful when it's true. God has no needs, and we were put here for one reason alone: to serve him. Many of us define godliness according to this upside down understanding of God. Pastors present themselves as self reliant because they honestly think that is who God is. They believe that the closer they get to God, the fewer needs they will have. We've come to believe that the end result of being conformed to the image of God is that we won't need people anymore.
The things we teach about worshipping God prove that we believe God is full of pride. Many people say that worship is the reason we were put here for. Nobody likes a prideful person, we avoid them at all cost. It would take nothing less than pure, stubborn dedication to continue a relationship with that person and nobody likes a prideful God. No wonder we have to encourage one another to make a 'commitment' to God. We have 'accountability partner' to keep us in line because if we were left alone. We slip back into avoiding Him completely. Pride is not in God's heart. He doesn't need our worship. It's not even for Him. He wants relationship and worship that are mutually edifying, born out of oneness.
So if it wasn't for worship, why did God create us? Because love requires expression. Does this imply that he didn't have everything he needed in and of himself? Was he unfulfilled? No. He put himself on the line and became vulnerable in order to have a relationship with us and express His love. Since we are made in his image, we have the same need. The need for relationship, a need to be known and a desire to share ourselves with others.There are places deep inside our hearts that cannot be touched except by vulnerability. God would never bring you to a breaking point unless he had already broke himself. Being made and spread eagle on a cross is not about suffering as much as it is about total and complete vulnerability before the ones you love.
In creating us, God showed that He himself was willing to be exposed as a sensitive, vulnerable being with the need to connect and experience authentic closeness. And he desired it with us, knowing we would struggle to see His heart and love Him in return. But he literally stripped Himself of all glory to expose the most vulnerable parts of Himself to humanity. And all because this was simply what was required to achieve an authentic relationship.
Though Jesus was king, He had no problem becoming a carpenter. Though all glory belonged to Him, He was comfortable having no place to lay His head. Though His hands formed the universe, He actually enjoyed washing dirty feet. He enjoyed it, because these were the feet of people he loved. He did not require that anyone kneel down to him and give him the respect he deserved. On the contrary, he invited them to walk with him and call him brother.
God is not proud and he created us to have a relationship with us. Worship is the consummation of that relationship.
"extracts from Misunderstood God by Darin Hufford"
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