My father was a downright deliriously positive guy. At times he was so positive it could make a negative person want to be that much more grumpy and surly.

Being a career salesman who was trained in the groovy, feel-good 70’s, my dad saturated himself in the writings of Zig Ziglar, Og Mandino and Dale Carnegie. For quite a long time he really bought into their teaching on “the power of positive thinking.” I can even remember him tuning in to watch the famous prosperity preacher, Robert Schuller and his “Hour of Power” from the now-defunct Crystal Cathedral:

“The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking!”

For a few years there, I think he actually believed positivity was the key needed to unlock the universe’s secret hidden powers – – like there was an invisible fountain of joy that you can always drink from simply by being happy. Success was achieved by channeling something called ‘enthusiasm.’ And for my dad, enthusiasm became a magic elixir he was determined to pass on to all of his children.

On some sleepy mornings when I would wake up feeling cruddy and acting crabby, which was almost every morning, my dad would say smiling, “Good morning Chris, it’s going to be a great day!” I wouldn’t respond but rather take another sloppy spoonful of Fruity Pebbles and grunt. So he would motion for me to follow him into the bathroom. Then he would say, “Look into the mirror and repeat after me, ‘BOY AM I ENTHUSIASTIC!’…Say it three times getting louder each time. By the time you’re done, you will feel like a whole new man!”

So I looked at my sorry self in the mirror and said in a rather lifeless tone, “Boy am I enthusiastic…hmmph.” My dad wasn’t buying it, so he would shout, “Louder, until you believe it!” So three times I called out for enthusiasm to rush into my heart hoping that would make him happy. He turned to me, “Now doesn’t that feel better?”

“Yeah…sure dad.”

He slapped me on the back and headed off to work whistling. After he was finally out the door, I looked back in the mirror and said, “Boy do I feel silly.” Between you and me, being enthusiastic or not, I still had to go dig ditches, pick weeds, and shovel topsoil at my landscaping job while nursing an aching back and creaky bones. Smile or no smile — sweat and pain, the flotsam and jetsam of the original curse, still remained …enthusiasm notwithstanding.

Last week while reading on vacation, I was surprised to learn that the concept of enthusiasm originated from the ancient Greeks. Ian Murray in his excellent book on revival titled “Pentecost – Today?” says this about enthusiasm, “‘Enthusiasm’ came into the English language from the Greek word enthousiasmos, meaning ‘being possessed by a pagan god.”

He goes on to say how this concept was used in the seventeenth century to describe “the unbalanced religious emotion of those who supposed they had some special nearness to God…the word we use now is fanaticism.” A fanatic is someone who leaps before he looks. As Murray writes, “Fanaticism may be orthodox in belief but it is more concerned with emotion and with results than it is with objective truth.”

The key concept here is “special nearness.” A fanatic, or a person who is caught up in the throes of enthusiasm, really believes they have access to a “blessedness above anything known to ordinary Christians.” Somehow because you felt something you believe you have more access to God than others. Shedding tears and shouting strings of superlatives concerning God is now seen to be of more importance in some circles of Christianity than living by His truth. The danger in this is that if not evaluated honestly, tears and moments of emotional high can become master tools of deceit making you believe something that isn’t actually true.

It is akin to looking in the mirror and shouting, “Boy am I enthusiastic!”

This desire to have a special nearness reminds me of a man who came into my office and said, “Pastor, you should come visit our prayer group, when we worship and pray we really meet with God!” So what does that mean? Regular average church people don’t? Because you feel something that means God shows up more?

Because of this lure for the enthusiasm elixir, many churches have turned into concert halls and motivational conferences. I often drive by a local church that has a sign which reads, “Holy Spirit service every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.” Is that the only time he shows up? And where is the Third Person of the Godhead the rest of the week? Waiting for people to enter a tiny building with loud drums, flashing lights and people crying?

11 years ago my dad was really acting tired and was getting constant chills because he said his office desk was right next to the air conditioner and it was blowing on him all day. My mom and sisters suggested that he go to the doctor to get checked out, “Nah, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me!” That was my dad, ever positive and enthusiastic. Later in the month, he went to a vitamin and health store to buy some herbs to try to help stop this fatigue he was fighting. “I’ll feel better in no time!” I can still hear him convincing himself of his wellness through personal positivity.

Two months later he fell down dead with a massive heart attack. I miss my wonderful best friend and dad terribly, and I miss his enthusiasm…even though it didn’t save him. Maybe that is why teaching on positivity often drives me nuts?!?!?

Paul writes, “Faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of God.” Emotion is not the source of life, it is the bi-product. Joy is a spiritual fruit from saving faith, not a source to channel power. Worship is a response to God’s presence that is already there, not a way to get more of him or invoke his presence.

Enthusiasm is not a bad thing, nor is it the thing. Jesus Christ and His Word is!