Following Jesus, The Blues, and Emotion

“That’s what you want…The Blues begging level, my son.”
Cliff Huxtable to Theo Huxtable from The Cosby Show


The above quote is from one of my favorite episodes of The Cosby Show. Theo’s girlfriend, Justine, had just broken up with Theo, who was sitting on the couch attempting to write a poem in an effort to get her back. Cliff (Bill Cosby) saw what Theo was doing and began to coach Theo on the necessity of going beyond writing a poem to a much deeper level of begging…”The Blues begging level, my son.” What followed was Theo learning how to open up his pain of losing Justine and expressing it in a deep, sorrowful, and “Blues” kind of way.

I often wonder if Christ-followers and churches have forgotten how to express sorrow. Do Christ-followers know how to name and express sad emotions in healthy ways? What about expressing and processing emotions in general? The Bible compels Christ-followers to “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn,” but can I share in someone’s celebration or suffering if I am first not aware of their joy or pain? And, can someone share their joy or pain if they first do not pause to recognize it, name it, and embrace it? What if the key to increasing the outreach of our churches is not a new strategy but a people of Christ being willing to be vulnerable and open with their joys and sorrows? I have often believed that the world does not want to know who we follow until they know that our followership is genuine and real. Genuine and real followership of Jesus means that we will sometimes hurt just like Jesus did and that we will sometimes celebrate just like Jesus did.

But what if we do not know how to process our emotions? That’s where I think we can take a page from the book of Cliff Huxtable. We turn to music to help us process our pain and joy, specifically the music of the Psalms. The Psalms are basically worship hymns of sorrow and joy that were often sung in the Temple at the appropriate time of grieving or celebration. We can read a Psalm like Psalm 8, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in the all the earth!” when something occurs in our life causing us to pause and reflect the greatness of God. Or, we can read a Psalm like Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?” when we feel like God has left us all alone. Each Psalm is deeply emotive and meant to be sung in sounds attached to the proper emotion.

So, what if we went one step further when reading the Psalms? What if we read the Psalms like Theo Huxtable sang of Justine? What if we cried out to God through a sorrowful tune similar to the Spiritual, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” while reading Psalm 22? What if we celebrated through the tune of Michael Franti’s “Say Hey (I Love You)?” when reading Psalm 8? Give it a try. You might be surprised how the music helps your process your emotion.  

When I am sad, I find myself alone on our back deck listening to A Great Big World and Christian Aguilera’s “Say Something” because often I am crying out to God, “Please say something in this moment of confusion.” Or, when I am thankful, I once again might find myself out on the back deck with a cup of coffee listening to Jeremy Needham’s “Daddy’s Baby Girl” or Kenny Chesney’s “If He’s Anything Like Me” because I am learning to appreciate the sheer beauty of my children. Regardless of the emotion, I have learned that understanding and processing emotions through the avenue of music helps me bring all of who I am to God and my church community.