How Does Your Church Respond to the Heavy-Hearted?

Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. (Proverbs 25:20 ESV)

When you pour vinegar on soda you get a reaction. It’s fun to watch as an elementary student but it’s also messy and smelly. It’s even worse when we aren’t talking about a Play-Doh volcano but a human heart that came desperate to church. And that is exactly what happens in churches all across the globe when we play church instead of feeding the sheep.

There will be several people who drag themselves into our church on Sunday morning with heavy hearts. Some of them might even be contemplating suicide. Others might be thinking about leaving a spouse or quietly planning their next sinful escapade. But they’ve come to church desperate.

And what do we give them?

Preacher jokes? A smooth program?

Most are probably thinking that what they really need is some sort of positive and feel good message. Or maybe they think they need a toolbox of tips to help them with their lives. I doubt they know what they really need. They’ll be baking soda crying for vinegar—or men dying of thirst who have an insatiable craving for salt.

It isn’t our job to give them what they want. It’s our job to give them what they need. You can get a chorus of “Amen’s” by not rocking the boat and appealing to all those who showed up for business as usual. You can put together a slick worship service and make folks walk out of there feeling great and peppy. But what is it? For heavy hearts it’s nothing more than vinegar on baking soda. It’s going to blow up. The two are incompatible.

And here is what really stinks. They’ll leave the service feeling good and even like they had some sort of experience. Just like it did in grade school, singing songs to a heavy heart may take awhile to create that messy reaction. But when it does happen—and gospel-less preaching will always come up empty—you’ll have someone going around saying they tried that “Jesus thing” but it didn’t work.

But it isn’t Jesus that has failed them. It’s our song that failed them. It’s our empty little ballads that we were so enamored with that we missed the Savior. People are hurting and broken and desperate for Jesus and we are giving them seamless transitions and eloquent speeches. We are singing songs to heavy hearts. Pretending like our borrowed and tattered and marred beauty is what attracts sinners. Or that our lyrics and thoughts are the balm desperate souls need.

Just, give me Jesus.